sweet cheese pecan bars

i've been finding a lot of pecan recipes that i want to try so i invested in a big bag of local pecans from the ranch supply store. the pecans are from marchbank pecans in logan, nm ($8.75 per lb) and they are so sweet and delicious. definitely a good investment considering the pecans at lowes are like $4 for 6 oz on sale and they are stale. the first pecan recipe i tried is the sweet cheese pecan bars. it's a layered dessert with crescent roll dough, sweet cheese and brown sugar pecan crumble. i like the way it turned out, especially since the cheese is really creamy. i would cut down the sugar in the cheese from 1 cup to 3/4 cup because the pecan mixture has sugar in it so i think cutting down the sugar in the cheese would balance out the too sweet flavor.

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cans Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla; beat on low speed until blended.

Unroll 1 can of dough into 1 large rectangle; press seams and perforations to seal. Press onto bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Spread with cream cheese mixture.

In small bowl, mix pecans, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Sprinkle half the pecan mixture over the cream cheese layer. On lightly floured surface, press or roll out remaining dough into 13x9-inch rectangle. Place over filling. Sprinkle remaining pecan mixture over top.

Bake at 375 degrees F 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly on cooling rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

pork chops with sauce soubise, brown rice and saurkraut

it's what i made myself for dinner. i was skeptical about the sauce soubise because it became clumpy when i was waiting for the rest of the food to cook, but it went really well with the flavor of the porkchops, and my flavor i mean frying it in bacon grease. i also cooked the onions in bacon grease instead of butter. bacon grease makes everything better.

sauce soubise

2 white onions, chopped finely

4 tablespoons butter (two for cooking the onion, and two to make the roux)

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

salt and pepper

3 tablespoons heavy cream

Cook the onions in 2 tablespoons butter until they are very soft (about 12 minutes). They should not brown.

In a saucepan, melt the other 2 tablespoons of butter and incorporate the flour, stirring over low heat for two minutes.

Gradually whisk in the milk, blending well after each addition. Cook the sauce over low to medium heat until it thickens and comes just to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the cooked onions and heavy cream.

Makes about 1 1/3 cups sauce.

skinny omelette 'tostada'

made this (http://whatdidicooktoday.blogspot.com/2010/08/skinny-omelette.html) for breakfast because we have a bunch of lettuce. this time i kept the omelette flat because it was a little bit thicker since i used a smaller pan. i used sofrito mayonnaise, topped it with lettuce, bacon crumble and feta, then topped that with some italian vinegarette. it was very filling for a breakfast without toast.

creme brulee ice cream

ugh i hate my camera phone and i misplaced my camera. the color of this ice cream is somewhere between a light brown and a bright orange. i think this ice cream isn't as sugary as it seems even though there is a ton of sugar in it. it has a burnt aftertaste so it taste like the first bite of a creme brulee after u crack the sugar and stuff the spoon into your mouth.

2/3 cup Sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar (or more for taste)

1 cup Heavy Cream

1 1/2 cup Milk

4 each Egg Yolks

Pinch Salt

1/4 tsp Vanilla

Melt the sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat until it turns a dark brown - I like to make mine as dark as possible with out turning black.

Meanwhile combine cream and milk in a saucepan and heat until mixture bubbles around the edge. When sugar has caramalized, remove from heat and slowly sitr in hot milk mixture. Place back on fire for a short while until caramel has completely dissolved.

Place egg yolks in a bowl, add salt and beat to combine. Temper eggs with some of the milk and then add to the remainder of the milk. Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly until the custard thickens lightly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Chill until completely chilled. use ice cream maker.

nectarine salad

i was really craving salad so i went to lowe's, the only supermarket in town, and got lowe'd. the term "lowe'd" meaning either they charged me the wrong price for something or what i bought turned out to be expired or rotten, or in this case both. so i was pissed when i realized the prepackaged lettuce i got was moldy and i paid $3 for two nectarines but oh well life goes on. i was craving salad so much and was in a bad mood cuz it's that time of the month and when i'm craving something i wanna eat it and i want a lot of it. i was happy i was craving salad and not tray of brownies. ryan was nice and went and got me fresh lettuce and i made a huuuuge fuckin salad! and it was da bomb. it was lettuce topped with carrots, nectarine, walnuts and feta cheese and a quick dressing made with olive oil, white wine vinegar, mustard, a lil bit of sugar and a dash of salt & pepper. it was damn good. imma be making another one today and THASSIT!

yogurt chicken kebabs & pizza

these are the last couple of dinners we made. last night we made pizza and the night before i used this chicken kebab recipe and made a bunch of alterations to make my own recipe. i basically marinated the chicken in this recipe (replacing the turmeric with cumin), left the same amount of seasoning but doubled the amount of lemon juice and tripled the amount of plain yogurt, let the chicken marinate overnight, then threw it all in a pan instead of grilling it. then i left the sauce thicken, and served it over brown rice and salad. yumms!

1/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (preferably thick Greek-style)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces

Whisk together yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, turmeric, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, then add chicken, stirring to coat. Marinate, covered and chilled, at least 8 hours.

If using a charcoal grill, open vents on bottom of grill, then light charcoal. When charcoal turns grayish white and you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill rack for 3 to 4 seconds, grill is ready (medium-hot). If using a gas grill, preheat burners on high, covered, 10 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-high.

While grill heats, drain chicken, discarding marinade, and thread chicken pieces about 1/4 inch apart onto skewers.

Lightly oil hot grill rack, then grill kebabs, covered only if using a gas grill, turning occasionally, until chicken is just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes.

strawberry banana yogurt muffins

i usually love strawberry banana yogurt, but we had purchased this different brand and it was actually pretty bad. how can you fuck up stawberry banana yogurt? i dunno, but it taste super sugary. since we had a bunch of them left, i didn't wanna just chuck them so i found this yogurt muffins recipe. the muffins are really moist and the sugary flavor works well with the muffins. the only thing i would change is the crumble. there was an excess amount of crumble left and the crumble that it did make had way too much flour, so i would cut the flour from 2/3 to 1/3 cup next time but leave the same amount of brown sugar and butter. this recipe makes a half dozen muffins and they should have big muffin tops. yum!

For muffins:

1 1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon of salt

less than half cup sugar

Zest of one orange

1/4 cup melted butter

between 1/3 and 1/2 cup low fat peach yogurt

5 tablespoons milk

For crumble:

2/3 cup of flour

1/4 cup of butter, softened

1/4 cup of brown sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease 6 muffin cups.

Step 2

For muffins, in a mixing bowl mix all dry ingredients. In separate bowl combine yogurt, milk and butter then stir into flour mix until smooth. Pour batter into greased muffin cups.

Step 3

For crumble, combine flour and brown sugar; then add butter and work with your fingertips until crumbles are formed.

Step 4

Top muffins with crumble and bake for 20-25 minutes or until ready.

lemon curd cheesecake pie

i love baking pies. they're pretty simple, just make a filling, throw it in the pie crust, throw the pie in the oven and then it's done. this one had to be refrigerated overnight, i almost didn't want to wait. it's very lemony because of all the lemon ingredients (curd, juice, extract, peel) but it's not overwhelming in lemon flavor. it's just right and the whipped topping is a nice touch. i also made an orange vanilla iced tea using green tea. that's pretty refreshing. can't you tell i'm ready for spring?

Lemon Swirl Cream Cheese Pie

Best of Show, Amateur: Kate Stewart Rovner, Plano, Tex.

Lemon Curd

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup butter, cut into small cubes

Vanilla Wafer Crumb Crust

1 1/2 cup vanilla wafer crumbs

3/4 cup almonds, finely ground and toasted

2 teaspoon lemon zest

pinch of salt

7 tablespoons melted butter

Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened

2/3 c sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Reserved lemon curd

Garnish

1/2 c heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoon powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

About 12-15 fresh raspberries

1 lemon, cut into thin slices and quartered

Prepare Lemon Curd: In a 1 1/2-quart saucepan, whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar. Whisk in eggs and butter. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking frequently for 7 minutes or until curd is thick. Remove from heat and use a food mill or sieve to strain curd into a small bowl. Remove 1/2 cup of lemon curd, reserving remaining lemon curd. Press plastic wrap directly onto surfaces. Cool 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with Crisco No-Stick spray.

Prepare Vanilla Wafer Crumb Crust: In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to toss together vanilla wafer crumbs, almonds, lemon zest and salt. Stir in melted butter. Press mixture onto bottom and sides of prepared pie plate.

Bake for 12 minutes on bottom oven rack. Remove from oven and set aside.

Prepare Cream Cheese Filling: In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed for 2 minutes or until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat at low speed until incorporated. Beat in sour cream, vanilla, and lemon extract. Beat in reserved Lemon Curd. Pour into baked crust. Dollop remaining 1/2 cup Lemon Curd onto Filling and swirl into Filling with a small knife.

Bake for 30 minutes or until center is nearly set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Cool for 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare Garnish: In a chilled, medium mixing bowl, beat whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla with a hand-held electric mixer, starting at lowest speed and increasing gradually each minute, until stiff peaks are formed. Using a #32 tip, pipe whipped cream decoratively around border of pie. Decorate with fresh raspberries and lemon slices. Refrigerate until serving time.

hot and sour shrimp soup with lemongrass

got this recipe from the ultimate soup bible cookbook. i love that cookbook. only thing i changed was i added some leftover angel hair pasta i had and removed the mushrooms. soup was light and yummy. i also made a mac & cheese casserole with tuna and tomatoes topped with sharp chedder and breadcrumbs as a side.

pesto!

last weekend melinda brought me a bunch of fresh herbs from out of town. she gave me fresh and frozen lemongrass, mint and what i was most excited about...basil! it's funny how little things like fresh herbs that i can't get at the local supermarket can make me so giddy. i used the mint to make feta & lamb meatballs, i'm still trying to figure out what to do with the lemongrass but i'm thinking some kind of soup, and with the basil i had to make pesto. while making the pesto, grinding everything up in the food processor, and the basil smelled amazing, i looked out my kitchen window and got to catch a beautiful sunset. the kind of sunset where the sky turns bright orange, pink, and red. i'm sure those happen all the time here in new mexico, but i always seem to miss them! i served the pesto with parsley meatballs (i'm not lying when i say i'm obsessed with making meatballs) and angel hair pasta.

walnut pesto

2 cups packed basil leaves

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup grated parmesan

2 tbsp softened butter (optional: good to add if you're making the pesto to use with pasta)

add everything to food processor except olive oil. process then drizzle olive oil over and continue to process.