Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Easy Cream Cheese Danish


This is really good, inexpensive brunch recipe. I like to also top with sliced almonds right before baking. I found the original recipe from allrecipes.com http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Cream-Cheese-Danish/Detail.aspx

Easy Cream Cheese Danish

2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. Line bottom of baking pan with 1 can of crescent rolls. Pinch all seams together to seal. In a large bowl, mix together softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract. Spread filling on top of rolls. Place second can of rolls on top of filling. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until lightly browned.

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar, milk and butter. After Danish has cooled, drizzle with icing. Cut into squares and serve with coffee for brunch.

Mongolian Beef Noodle Salad


This is a recipe from work, but so many people asked for the recipe, I decided to just post it. Delicious!

Mongolian Beef Noodle Salad

Marinade:
  • 2 1/4 lbs. beef skirt steak
  • 1 1/2 cups teriyaki marinade
  • 3 Tbsp. peanut oil
  • 2 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. lime juice

Thinly slice beef into strips and place in a gallon size sip-lock bag. Whisk together teriyaki marinade, peanut oil, sesame oil, and salt, pour over beef strips in bag, and place bag in a bowl to prevent from leaking. Place in refrigerator and marinate overnight. About an hour before you are ready to serve the salad, remove strips from zip-lock and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Reserve 1/2 cup of marinade from bag and discard remaining. Pour reserved 1/2 cup marinade over beef strips on cookie sheet. Pre-heat oven broiler. Sprinkle beef with 3 Tbsp. brown sugar and 2 Tbsp. lime juice. Broil beef 5-7 minutes until almost done, turning with tongs once. Be careful not to overcook, beef will finish cooking once it is removed from the oven. You can also grill the steak strips, but I prefer broiling them in the oven. Remove beef from cookie sheet to a bowl or plate and set aside until ready to serve.

Salad:

  • 3 pkgs. ramen noodles, cooked, drained, and cooled (you don't need seasoning packet)
  • 6 cups mixed spring greens
  • 4 cups shredded Napa cabbage
  • 2 bell peppers, any color, seeded and thinly sliced
  • 1 cup bean sprouts, either fresh or canned
  • 1/2 cup green onions
  • 1/2 cup chopped cashews
  • 1 cup store-bought Asian Sesame Dressing (more or less depending on taste)

In a large serving bowl, combine all ingredients. Serve steak strips over salad with more dressing drizzled on, if desired.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Gardening Season '09--Whoo Hoo!


We are already gearing up for another gardening season! This year, we are planning to do the farmer's market every Saturday from May until October sometime. We've already started about 90% of our plants indoors, most will be ready to be moved into the greenhouse fairly soon...



Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Craisin Spinach Salad


I love love love this salad in the fall, but I just made it the other day, and decided it was delicious, any time of the year. This recipe make a huge amount, it's perfect for company, but you'll probably want to cut it in half just to serve 4-6 people. I also like to add a can of mandarin oranges (drained) for some more flavor and color. I buy pre-toasted honey glazed almonds, but it is good with just the plain toasted ones, too. Save yourself some more work by purchasing pre-washed spinach leaves.

Craisin Spinach Salad
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 3/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
  • 1 pound spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces (one Sam's Club size tub)
  • 1 cup craisins
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/3 cup olive oil

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and let cool.
In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the toasted almonds and craisins.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and vegetable oil. Toss with spinach just before serving.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Another Funny Sign


WTF?

I want to meet the people who make these signs. They are my new best friends.

Baby Mop


I believe that I have found the world's greatest invention...Baby Mop! Why hasn't this invention taken off yet? Why aren't we seeing this ingenious device on the shelves of every Wal-Mart in Utah? The only thing it is missing is some sort of pole attachment to maneuver the child about the dirty floor. Since I don't have kids, I'm thinking about creating a similar contraption for my two dogs, who spend the majority of their life on my filthy kitchen floor anyways.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Shortbread Cookies


I found this recipe on the back of a package of Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips. They were super easy. Hubby said that these were the best cookies I've ever made! And he usually hates cookies. When I am short on time, I just press the dough into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan, bake, and cut into squares when cool.

Ghiradelli Shortbread Cookies
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 pkg. chocolate chips (either semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Grandually add flour until combined. Stir in chips by hand. If dough seems crumbly or dry, don't worry, it will stick together when shaped with hands. Using the palms of your hands, or a mini cookie scoop, shape cookies into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 13-15 minutes. Cookies should be very lightly browned when done. Remove from cookie sheets and let cool completely.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Funny Picture #4

Nutella Day


Apparently, World Nutella Day was on February 5th. But I'm pretty sure every day should be Nutella Day. So to celebrate, I made Nigella Lawson's Nutella Cake. Here's a picture of her cake:


And here's a picture of how my cake turned out:

I covered mine in leftover ground hazelnuts, so it doesn't look at pretty as Nigella's. This cake was amazing. It was actually way easy and fairy inexpensive for an uber-fancy dessert.

Nigella's Nutella Cake
  • 6 large eggs, separated
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 13-ounce container Nutellla
  • 1 tablespoon Frangelico, or other hazelnut liquor
  • 1/2 cup finely ground hazelnuts
  • 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; butter a 9-inch springform pan.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, whip the egg whites and salt until stiff. Or do this in your Kitchen-Aid. In another bowl, cream the butter and Nutella, then add the Frangelico, egg yolks, and ground hazelnuts. Fold in melted chocolate.

Add a blob of beaten egg whites to the chocolate batter, and mix gently until well-combined. Fold in the remaining whites, one-third at a time, very gently but thorougly. Pour into springform and bake for 40 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting tester, which should come out mostly clean; lightly pressing finger into top to check for a slight bouncing-back; and observing edges beginning to separate from pan. Let cool completely, in pan, on a rack.

Ganache:

  • 4 ounces whole hazelnuts
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon rum or Frangelico
  • 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry skillet, shaking them around frequently. Do it for about 5 minutes, or until they are lightly browned, then let cool completely. If hazelnuts came with skins on, put them in a towel after toasting and rub around; this will remove most of the skins, if you are diligent.

Chop chocolate, and add to sauce pan with cream and rum over medium-low heat. Once chocolate is melted and components are combined, whisk until mixture reaches desired thickness, then cool. Remove rim of cake pan and pour cooled ganache over, spreading lightly to create a smooth, shiny surface, and apply hazelnuts all over. If you have used Frangelico, put shot glasses on the table and serve it with the cake.

Funny Picture #3