Churro's

Its 10pm on a Saturday night and i decided to get inventive. I made homemade Churro's because they are so delicious and i never ever thought it was possible to make! They are super easy, super delicious and a perfect snack for my plus 3.  Ive learned that nothing is impossible! I found 2 recipes and combined them to make what i thought would be perfect. And oh was it.

Whatcha Need:

1 cup water
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup white flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar & 2 TBS
1/2 to 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, depending on taste

How to do it:

Preheat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of vegetable oil in a 10 to 12 inch frying pan to 375 degrees F.
In a separate dish mix the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon and set aside
.

In a 3 qt. sauce pan add the water, brown sugar, salt, 2TBS sugar and butter and heat to a good boil.

Remove from the heat and add the flour. Stirring in the flour will take some muscle. Mix it in until well blended.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla together and then add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until well blended and all the egg is completely mixed in.

Fill your decorating tool with the churro recipe dough and attach the largest star tip you have.

Test your oil by placing a small amount of dough in it. The dough should bubble up right away or that means the oil is not hot enough and a soggy churro is on the way.

Once the oil is hot enough, squeeze some dough (with decorator) into the oil about 4 inches long. I used my finger to release the dough from the decorator. Careful not to burn yourself.

You should be able to cook 4 or 5 churros at a time. Cook them about 1 minute and turn them over with a slotted spoon. Cook an additional minute or two. You're looking for that nice golden brown color.
Remove the churros with the slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel-covered plate to absorb excess grease.

While still warm, roll each churro into the dish with the sugar and cinnamon until coated.

Guacamole

Tonight is Taco night and what goes better with taco's than Guacamole (besides a Margarita that is). Its so easy and so delicious.


Whatcha Need:

3 Avocado's - when purchasing them, give them the 'squeeze test'. Must be kinda mushy. Firm = No good
1 Medium tomato
1 small onion
Cilantro- About a 1/4 cup
1 lime
Cumin- to taste
Salt- to taste

How to do it:

First open  your avocado and remove seed and scoop the 'meat' out of it and put it in a bowl. With a fork gently smush up the avocado. But leave it chunky

Next dice up you tomato, onion and cilantro- dice them finely and throw in the bowl with your avocado

Next add your cumin- I usually use a tablespoon or more because i love the flavor but use to your taste. Same goes with Salt. Use to your liking

Lastly, squeeze 1 lime into the yummy green mixture. This gives it an extra kick and also keeps the avocados from turning brown.

Extras: My plus 3 eat this so I don't ever get to put jalapeno's in it. but feel free to add some if you like a little heat. You can also add corn, which is delish too!

Serve on chips, tacos or however you want!

Chicken and Waffles

All the rap guys eat it so why cant I? I was a little excited, ok alot excited to make this for dinner because it gets such hype. I told my kids this is what i was cooking and i got a look of concern and argued with my plus 3, mind you are all under 3.5 feet, as to how and why you cant put these together. But at the end of the day... Plates were empty, licked clean and request for it again have already been made. BAM whose awesome now? Yep this mom is! I stole (ok borrowed) Emeralds recipe for the waffles because they are so du-lic-ous. BAM


Whatcha Need:

 2lbs of Chicken tenders (or you can use chicken breasts cut in chunks or strips)

1 cup all purpose flour

2TBS of salt

2TBS of Pepper

2TBS of Onion Powder

1 tsp of Garlic Powder

1 tsp of Cumin

1/2 tsp of Paprika

Vegetable oil, for frying

*Add a splash of Hot sauce to chicken before breading if you like a little PUNCH

 Waffles:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Unsalted butter, topping

How to Make this Junk:

Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, and paprika. Combine remaining spices with flour then roll your chicken in the seasoned flour.

Add 1/2 to 3/4 inch oil to a large, heavy skillet. Heat to approximately 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). Place chicken pieces in hot oil. Cover, and fry until golden, turning once, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain on paper towels

Waffles:

Preheat a waffle iron and lightly greased. Into a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together.

In a clean bowl, beat the eggs. Add the butter and buttermilk and beat to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix well.


Pour the batter into the hot waffle iron and cook until golden brown and lightly crisp.

Remove and if desired, top with a slice of butter, and serve with the chicken and maple syrup.

Honey Wheat Bread

Well my family loves Wheat bread and we go through it like nobodies business. So i decided to make my own and it turned out AH-MAZING. So easy and so worth it.

Whatcha Need:

Makes: 1 loaf

1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (see additional notes for a 100% whole wheat version)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast

How to do it:
 First proof your yeast with your warm water, and honey (stir yeast in and let sit for 10 minutes until bubbly.)

then combine the first  (minus the water, because you already used it, duh) 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir.

 Add flours and yeast and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. If loaf starts browning too soon, put a piece of foil over the top loosely

Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm!

Stumbled across this recipe a few weeks ago and its worth it. Give it a try!

BEEN THERE DONE THAT: I altered the taste sometimes. Drop the brown sugar and double to honey for a more honey taste.

Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

I ran across this recipe on my new found love 'stumbleupon' courtesy of my BFF Jwoww and i knew i had to make it. It was destiny. So tonight was the night i made it a reality. And man was it amazing. Try it. Its an un-conventional way to enjoy chocolate chip cookies especially if you (like my sister) prefer just the dough. Make it, Love it, repeat.

Whatcha Need:

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup chocolate chunks- not chocolate chips


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet set over medium-low heat. Stir in sugars and vanilla and remove from heat. Let rest until pan is warm, but no longer very hot, about 5 minutes.

Crack an egg onto the butter and sugar mixture, and use a fork to whisk it well into the mixture. Place flour, baking soda, and salt on top, and very carefully stir into the mixture until smooth and well-mixed.

Stir in chocolate chunks. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, or until starting to turn golden on the top and around the edges, but soft in the center. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Garlic Knots

Whatcha Need:

Dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed 1 envelope Fleischmann's® RapidRise Yeast*  3/4 teaspoon salt  1 cup very warm water (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F)  2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

Garlic Sauce

 1 Stick of Butter  6 tablespoons finely minced fresh garlic  3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley  1 teaspoon salt

How to tie the knot

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, undissolved yeast, and salt. Stir very warm water and olive oil into flour mixture. Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4 to 6 minutes.

 

 

Cover; let rest on floured surface 10 minutes.

roll out to about 14 in pizza size cut 12 across and then in half, to make 24 tie in a knot twice

 

put on greased cookie sheet, Cover for another 10 minutes until they rise a little more

bake 20 min at 400

Remove the knots from the oven, place them in a big bowl (with a lid). While the knots are still hot, drizzle them with butter. Sprinkle with garlic, parsley and salt. Toss well and serve.

 

Cinnamon Buns

Enough Said. eat, pray (you don't gain weight), love.

Dough:
2 pkg. active dry yeast
1 C. warm water (105-115 degree)
2/3 C. plus 1 tsp. granulated sugar, divided
1 C. warmed milk
2/3 C. butter
2 tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
7-8 C. all-purpose flour, or more if needed

Filling:
1 C. melted butter, divided (2 sticks)
1 3/4 C. granulated sugar, divided
3 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 C. chopped walnuts, optional
1 1/2 C. raisins, optional

Creamy glaze:
2/3 C. melted butter (1 stick plus 2 Tbsp.)
4 C. powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4-8 Tbsp. hot water

In a small bowl mix together warm water, yeast and sugar and set aside. Allow to proof and get all bubbly (about 10 minutes). In a large bowl, mix milk, remaining 2/3 cup sugar, melted butter, salt and eggs; stir well and add yeast mixture. Add half the flour and beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour until dough is slightly stiff (dough will be sticky).

 

Turn out onto a well-floured board; knead 5 -10 minutes. Place in well-buttered glass or plastic bowl, cover and let rise in warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled, punch down dough and let rest 5 minutes. Roll out on floured surface into a 15 x 20 inch rectangle ( or comparable size)

To prepare filling: Spread 1/2 cup melted butter on your rolled out dough. Mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts and raisins, if desired.

Roll up jellyroll-fashion and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices. Coat bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and a 8-inch square pan with remaining 1/2 cup melted butter, then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup sugar.

 Place cinnamon roll slices close together in pans. Let rise in warm place until dough is doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until rolls are nicely browned. Cool rolls slightly.

  

To prepare glaze: In medium bowl, mix melted butter, powdered sugar and vanilla; add hot water 1 Tbsp. at a time until glaze reaches desired spreading consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls

*recipe found courtesy of a fellow foodie. Its a must keep and pass down forever one!