Red Beans & Rice with Lamb & Eggplant

I found this treasure of a recipe in Rachael Ray's magazine "Everyday".  Original recipe called for lamb sausage and a pinch of saffron (I wasn't spending $17 for a pinch of anything).  Seriously you have to try this recipe.  So yummy.

Red Beans & Rice with Lamb & Eggplant

2 T butter
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/4 c long grain and wild rice
2 c chicken stock
1 tomato chopped (I used a can of diced tomatoes)
salt and pepper
2 T olive oil
1 lb ground lamb
1 small firm eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 T chopped fresh thyme
1/2 c dry white wine
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
chopped fresh parsley for garnish

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat until foaming; stir in the paprika.  Add the rice and cook, stirring for 1 minute.  Add the stock and tomato; season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low, cover and simmer for 18 minutes.

Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Crumble in the sausage and cook until browned, about 8 minutes.  Add the eggplant, onion, garlic, bell pepper, and thyme; season with salt and pepper.  Partially cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits.  Stir in the beans to heat through and then stir in the rice.  Top with parsley.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

This is probably the most moist, picture perfect cake I've made.  It was a different kind of recipe in that it used oil instead of the butter like I normally use.  They "domed" ideally too.  Found the cake recipe off tastykitchen.com and the frosting recipe off food.com

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

cake:

• 2 cups Flour
• 2-½ cups Sugar
• ¾ cups Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 1 teaspoon Instant Espresso Or Instant Coffee Granules
• 1-½ cup Water
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tablespoons White Vineger
• 2 whole Large Eggs, At Room Temperature

1.Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well.
2. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend.
3. Mix the ground espresso into the water then gradually beat into the batter mixture.
4. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla.
5. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed.
6. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.
7. Bake for 18 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.  Let cool completely before frosting.

frosting:

• 1 cup butter (softened to room temp)
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Cream butter and peanut butter together.
2. Add half the powdered sugar and blend.
3. Blend in milk and vanilla.
4. Add remaining powdered sugar.
5. Stir until smooth and well blended. 
   Fill in decorator gun and pipe on top of cupcakes.

Bagel Dogs

Who doesn't love bagel dogs?! This recipe is super easy if you have a Kitchenaid mixer and the hook attachment.  Easy peasy.  And don't they look pretty??  Yummers. Recipe from tastykitchen.com

 

 Bagel Dogs

• 4 cups Bread Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1-½ teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Or Olive Oil
• 2 teaspoons Instant Yeast
• 1-½ cup Warm Water
• 10 whole Polish Sausages Or Hot Dogs

Mix all ingredients but the sausages, and only 1 1/4 cups of the water into a large bowl. You can add the additional water if it looks like not all the flour will mix or the dough is extra stiff. (I end up using about 1 1/3 cups, but altitude, indoor temp, etc may change it). Dough will be sticky.
Tip dough onto clean counter and knead about 10 minutes or until dough is smooth.
Cut dough into even pieces and let rest 10-20 minutes. (10 for bagel dogs since smaller dough is better, but 8-10 regular bagels can be made with the dough.)
Using a rolling pin, roll out each piece of dough into a long rectangular piece twice as long as the hotdog/sausage. Wrap diagonally across the hotdog, making sure there is overlap, then tuck the ends in when done.
Let rest 5 minutes.
While resting, boil a large pot of water on stove and preheat oven to 425. Once boiling is reached, place bagel dogs in water for one minute each, then let them sit on a tea towel/paper towel to dry for 30 seconds. For authenticity, sprinkle top with poppyseeds. You can also use dried onion, sesame seeds, kosher salt, or anything else.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until bagels are golden, take out and let cool. If you didn’t wrap them tight enough with good overlap, they can unwind a bit, as shown for the middle one the picture above (I was impatient).

Rice Krispie Utopia treeats

Hands down, this is seriously one of the best things I've ever made.  And it's probably the easiest too.  How the hell does that work???  I tried these tasty treats originally in San Diego at a little bakery in Ocean Beach.  I've been trying to remake the delights ever since.  Finally found a recipe suggesting melting white chocolate and rice krispie treats and I said AH HAH!

Rice Krispie Utopia treats

1/4 c peanut butter
1 bag white chocolate chips
3 c rice krispies
1 1/2 c mini marshmallows

Melt white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.  Melt initially for a minute, stir, and nuke another 30 seconds.  Stir and repeat the 30 sec intervals until fully melted.  Stir in the peanut butter until well combined.  Mix in the rice krispies until coated and then the mini marshmallows.  Pour into a dish sprayed with non-stick spray and lightly press down into the form.  Allow to cool and cut into squares.

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

These turned out so delicious I've made them twice already; double batches at that.  Just the perfect combination and oh so summery.  Seriously though.  Truly fantastic.  Recipe off
http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/08/22

Lemonade Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting


1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
grated zest and juice of a lemon
1 cup milk, divided

Preheat oven to 350 F and line 24 muffin tins with paper liners.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture a third at a time, alternating with half the milk and half the lemon juice after each of the first 2 additions of flour. Beat until just combined.
Fill the prepared tins and bake for 20 minutes, until springy to the touch. Tip the cupcakes in their tins to help them cool. Let cool completely before frosting. If you like sprinkle with colored sugar. Makes 2 dozen.

Fresh Raspberry Frosting
1 cup fresh raspberries (or thawed from frozen)
1 cup butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
In the bowl of a food processor, puree the raspberries until smooth. If you like, press the mixture through a sieve to get rid of the seeds.
In a medium bowl, beat the butter and half the sugar until smooth. Add the raspberry puree, then more sugar until you have a fluffy, spreadable consistency. Add a splash of water, too (a tablespoon or two) if it needs it.

Udon Noodles with Spicy Ground Pork

I was in the mood for a new ground pork recipe and the Udon noodles caught my eye.  Recipe off www.smokywok.com.  These turned out fantastic.  So easy and so tasty.  I just loved them and will definitely be making this dish again.  I edited the original recipe just a bit based on what I had on hand and that posted below reflects my changes.  Awesome Asian dish with just the right amount of spice!

Udon Noodles with Spicy Ground Pork
Ingredients:

1 packet of udon noodles
oil for pan frying
1/2 pound of ground pork
2 stalks green onions, sliced
3 stalks of boy choy - boil separately
3 red chilli peppers
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced

Seasonings:
2 tbsps dark soy sauce
dashes of hot chili sesame oil to taste
1 T sugar
  
First, boil the noodles according to package instructions. I ran my noodles under some cold water to lessen the starchiness. Next, heat about 2 T of oil in your wok or pan. Add the minced garlic, shallots, red chillis and green onions and saute on low heat till fragrant. Add the ground pork and stir around briskly. Pour in the seasoning ingredients and stir-fry till cooked. Finally, add in the cooked noodles and stir-around to coat evenly or dish the pork mixture on top.   Serve with a side of steamed bok choy (salt and pepper to taste).

Eggnog Cupcakes with Spiced Rum Buttercream

I found this recipe off www.bakersroyale.com.  At the time it was the Christmas season and I was feeling festive!  These turned out really good!  Great flavor and not too overpowering.  And so pretty!  I used yellow glass sprinkles on top.

Eggnog Cupcakes with Spiced Rum Buttercream

Cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• ¾ cup eggnog
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Spiced Rum Buttercream:

• 5 large egg whites
• 11/2 cup sugar
• 4 sticks unsalted butter, diced and softened
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup spiced rum

To make cupcake:

1. Measure out flour and set aside.
2. Add sugar and butter in a bowl and cream on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs in 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the eggnog and vanilla to start. Mix after addition until incorporated-do not overbeat.
3. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer cupcakes from tins to cooling rack. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

 To make Spice Rum Buttercream:

1. Combine egg whites and sugar in a bowl placed over simmering water. Bring mixture to 150 degrees F while whisking constantly.
2. Transfer mixture to stand mixer bowl, fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on medium  high speed (speed 8 on a KitchenAid stand mixer) until mixture cools and doubles in volume and forms soft medium peaks; about 10-12 minutes).
3. Add butter in one piece at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition. The mixture may appear clumpy and almost curdled looking at first-this is normal. Keep mixing and it will become even and smooth again.
4. Add salt and spiced rum and mix to combine.