Snickerdoodles

If you came here looking for jerk chicken with pineapple for Craving Ellie in My Belly you won't find it. I apologize. I looked at the recipe and while it looked good....it required a ton of ingredients that I didn't have on hand and didn't want to purchase this week. I am sure that both myself and The Hubster would have enjoyed it though. I will be back next week.

I made these cookies twice in the past 3 days. They are very good. The recipe is from Martha Stewart's COOKIES cookbook on page 82. I think that they are much better consumed the day of baking though (especially good while still warm). My only complaint is that they seem to dry out quickly, even when stored in airtight containers.

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks butter, room temperature)
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Put butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.
2. Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into twenty 1 3/4 inch balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

You Capture. Colors

Since I want to improve my photography skills (if I really even have any?), I thought that this would be fun. Completely un-food related too!

I love reading Beth's blog. She hosts a weekly photography challenge and I thought that I would join in on the fun this week. She did a post earlier this week about Picassa and I have been trying and tinkering around with it. You can really do some fun stuff. So here are some fun pics that I took this morning capturing color.

Check out how others captured color and join in on the fun.

This is quite the mess....but very colorful indeed.

I will really miss these when spring is over.

Tartest Lemon Tart - TWD

Rest assured....even though I don't have any pictures to share, I did make this tart. But not many liked it. My boys and I went to visit my sister this weekend and I forgot my camera. But I did remember to bring my blender, food processor and tart pan though. She doesn't have any baking equipment and I wanted to bake this for her and my mom. OK. I take that back. She does have baking stuff, just very limited baking stuff.

Obviously I didn't read the P&Q very carefully before making this eye popping sour tart. I used the entire lemon, with the exception of the seeds. It. was. very. sour. My kids didn't like it at all. Neither did my sister. I thought that the crust was delicious (I skipped the nuts and made it plain) but wasn't so keen on the lemon filling. Very sour! My mom liked the tart and my sister's boyfriend thought that it was fine.

This was not a tart that I would try again. I do like lemon desserts and think that this would have been fantastic if the tartness would have been tamed down some. Alot some! It was fun to make though.

The recipe was chosen by Babette. You can find the recipe HERE or on page 336 in Dorie's cookbook.

I will be back next week with Mango Bread. And pictures!

Happy Mother's Day

We have a winner!!

Congrats to Megan from My Baking Adventures. You are the winner of a new purse!

The drawing was done fair and square and the winner was drawn by my mom. We put the entries in a bowl and drew the winner.

I will add pictures tomorrow of the drawing, but I am currently out of town and am having problems with my sister's camera. I unfortunately forgot mine at home.

I hope that everyone had a great Mother's Day today.

Garden Risotto - CEiMB

Jessica was the lucky recipe picker this week. Check hers out here (as well as the recipe). I have just recently been introduced to making risotto but have not tried it without mushrooms. And I love peas!

This recipe was easy, flavorful and good. It paired perfectly with the brats that we grilled out tonight too!

Check out all the other risotto dishes HERE.


Don't forget....there are only 2 more days left for the Giveaway!

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

I found this recipe at Closet Cooking and it looked fantastic. It is very good and tastes even better the second day as leftovers. I actually doubled the recipe because we were having company. I cooked it in a 9x13 inch pan. It was a ton of food. I will not do that again. 6+ servings are just fine. I also used a rotisierre chicken and served it with chips, guacamole and refried beans. I will be making this one again.
This recipe is really worth trying. FANTASTIC!

King Ranch Chicken Casserole (makes 6+ servings)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion (chopped)
1 red pepper (chopped)
1 poblano pepper (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 jalapenos (chopped)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin (toasted and ground)
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup of chicken broth
2 cups chicken (cooked and shredded)
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon oregano
1 cup corn
1 lime (juice)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
10 corn tortillas
2 cups cheese (grated)

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a pan.
2. Add the onion, red pepper and poblano pepper and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic jalapenos, chili powder and cumin and saute unto fragrant, about a minute.
4. Mix in the flour and cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the chicken broth and simmer until the liquid thickens.
6. Add the chicken, tomatoes, green chilies, milk and oregano and simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and stir in the corn, lime juice, sour cream, cilantro, salt and pepper.
8. Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of an 8 inch square baking pan.
9. Top with a layer formed with 1/2 of the tortillas.
10. Top with a layer of 1/2 of the the sauce.
11. Top with a layer of 1/2 of the the cheese.
12. Top with a layer of the remaining tortillas.
13. Top with a layer of the remaining sauce.
14. Top with a layer of the remaining cheese.
15. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until the sides are bubbling and the top is golden brown.

Last but not least....don't forget to enter for the GIVEAWAY!

Tiramisu Cake - TWD

I was super excited about the chosen recipe for today. Megan from My Baking Adventures chose the recipe. I love Megan's blog and faithfully check hers everyday. I love the recipes that she posts and am glad that we "met" each other. Check out how her cake turned out HERE and she also has the actual recipe posted.

This cake is a good one. It was fun to put together and even though I am not a coffee drinker in the slightest, it is delicious. My little guy loved the frosting and of course the chocolate chips on top. I was already a tiramisu fan though. I really liked the yellow cake, the filling and the frosting. The chocolate in the middle is just an added bonus.

Be sure to check out what everyone else did for this recipe. There are some really creative ones from sushi to cupcakes and more cupcakes.

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway for Mother's Day!!