Orange Swirl Meringues

Meringues.  I swear, I love these things.  I don't care if they are in the form of cookies, pavlova, top of a pie, it makes NO difference.  I love the crispy outside and perfect marshmallow-ee inside.  Makes me happy for sure!

 

This recipe has been sitting in a magazine on the coffee table for a good year now.   Yes, dead serious.  There is a small pile of magazines sitting there for random reading and this recipe was in one of them.  So 6 months ago I took a huge step, and ripped the recipe out and threw the magazine away.  Definite big girl panty move, eh?  Another 6 months and I actually make the recipe.  Pathetic.  I know.  Doesn't matter, it is amazing.   This could easily be changed out with say....lime or lemon zest, and the color green or yellow to match.  I think a combo of all 3 on a huge plate would be SO cool.   So get your piping bag, and work this out.  They are easy and fun.  You will love them!

Don't sweat the small stuff, the painting of the food coloring is easy, and really you could color the entire batter if you like and avoid that whole drama all together!  Use any tip you like, I used no tip and just cut the tip of my bag off at a place I thought would create a nice size cookie.  I love when you have choices, when things aren't so meticulous, my gosh, I would be a hot mess.  NO comments! HA!

Btw, I am SO savvy, I managed to use those egg yolks I had leftover in another recipe today.  I know, I KNOW.  Are you that cool??  Don't throw them away, find a good use, you paid for them, USE THEM!!

Here is what you will need:
3 large egg whites, at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
orange food coloring (gel)
piping bag

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.  In a heatproof bowl, add eggs whites, sugar and salt.  Place over a pot of simmering water and whisk until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from the pot of water when it feel smooth between your fingers.  Add in vanilla and cream of tartar and combine with your whisk until completely incorporated.

Pour mixture into your stand mixer bowl OR, keep in the current bowl.  You will need to beat this mixture until the whites are at the stiff peak stage.  You should be able to turn your beater or whisk attachment upside down the egg whites will remain standing up.  This could take 7-9 minutes.  So get on with your bad self and get to beating! HA!  When you get to stiff peaks, add in orange zest and just beat long enough to incorporate it. 

While this is happening take a paint brush and paint 1-3 lines INSIDE of your piping bag.  From the very bottom to the top.   It is helpful to put your bag inside of a tall drinking glass, fold the top over the edges and fill.  Regardless of how you do it, just get it done the best you can, there is no harm in not getting things exact. 

Pipe in a small circle and build up as you can see in the photo.  Really you can pipe them how you want, but if you want the swirl look do it in circles instead of one plop, so to speak.  Your cookies will have strong color the first few, as you can see in my photo, which made absolutely no difference to me, so just go with it.

When you have them all piped, put into the oven for 1hr 15 minutes.  Then, shut the oven off and let sit another 15 with the door opened slightly.  Remove and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

These were fun to make, I am a sucker for a meringue, all day, errr day!

 

Your "never can resist ORANGE food" Chefwannabe

Rice Pudding

My husband has emailed me 3 times from work wondering if this would be ready when he got home.  Yes, it is one of his favorite and yes, it is THAT good. 

There are so many variations of rice pudding but personally, while not fond of the texture of rice pudding, I would say this is the best, vanilla, creamy, goodness!!  I might be partial, but at the same time, I am quite brutally honest, so yea, it is the best and easiest!  My dad grooves on raisins in his rice pudding.  I, think raisins are really little bug corpses.  I mean, I don't know that for a fact, but I guarantee, if examined closely, they would be outlawed! :)   You guess it, not a fan of the raisin.  I will be sending a big bowl of this to my parents in a couple of days, I will make them a double batch and I will add raisins, because you know why?  I am the their youngest and most perfect child.  I mean, it is what it is right?  Come on "youngest children", you know what I mean?!  They would expect nothing less than that from us.  HA!

I mention in the ingredients to make sure your egg is room temperature.  When you add it, add slowly and don't stop stirring, we don't want scrambled eggs here and if the egg is at room temp it is closer to the temp of the scalding, boiling, mixture and not like, COLD to ya know....hotter than the sun.   I like to make sure I have everything measured out and ready to go. This is another one you are going to need some good music for.  You will have lots of dance party time while you stand at the stove and stir.  DO NOT, leave the stove kids!

3/4 cup white rice (uncooked)
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups milk (divided
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, slightly beaten (make sure it is at room temp)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup raisins (optional) Blech! 

In a small pot, bring water to a boil, add in white rice, turn down to low and simmer for 15 minutes.  Keep checking it so it doesn't stick or boil dry!  Trust me, keep it low, again, TRUST ME!

In a clean, medium saucepan, add in rice, sugar, and 1 1/2 cups milk.  Stir on medium until mixture begins to thicken, it could take 12-15 minutes.  Be patient and do not walk away, it will burn so fast you won't know what hit ya!  After it has thickened, (15 min point if you aren' sure), add in the remaining milk, egg, and raisins (if adding), stir until combined and cook another minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, add in butter, and vanilla, stir until melted and divide into 4 small dishes or ramekins. 

I hope you enjoy this creamy, perfect every single stinkin' time rice pudding.  I am off to make a double batch for my sister to deliver to my parents this weekend! 

Your "not so sure about this rice pudding thing"chefwannabe

Chocolate Covered Cherry Muffins

Good Evening!  I hope this finds you all home and relaxing after a hard day at work!  Maybe you just had dinner, maybe you are waiting for your water to boil, your oven to heat, or your microwave to ding, regardless, I have you covered for dessert.  Or wait.....I mean breakfast, umm, tomorrow. 

These "muffins" taste more like dessert but.......shhhh, don't tell anyone.   I have never eaten a chocolate muffin.  Never.  Can you believe it?  My husband says it is because chocolate muffins are cupcakes.  And heaven knows, I have had my fair share of those so technically, hubby says, I have eaten chocolate muffins.  Well since I am on another use up kick, I had some cherry pie filling, some maraschino cherries and other random things I wanted used up.  You got the final deal here.   I mean who doesn't think, "Heck yeah" when they hear Chocolate Covered Cherry Muffins?  I am on a bit of a muffin kick anyway, it is turning into another biscotti obsession of how many kinds can I possibly make.  Has this ever happened to anyone else, or am I, again, the singular freak? 

These muffins aren't to sweet, they have a nice texture and who doesn't love a surprise cherry in the middle?  Get outta here, they are delish.  DO NOT and I repeat, DO NOT, skip the chocolate drizzle on top.  It evens things out perfectly and just shouldn't be left out.  Get in your kitchen and make these, because every morning should start so decadently!

You will need:
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tbsp. melted butter
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cherry extract
3/4 cup cherry pie filling
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 Sm jar of maraschino cherries (you will need 15ish)
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Line muffin/cupcake pan with liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. 

In a large bowl or your stand mixer bowl, add in eggs, butter, buttermilk brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cherry extract.  Mix until all ingredients are well combined.  Continue by adding cherry pie filling and oats to the mix.  Again mix until all ingredients are combined.  Add in flour and mix ONLY until flour is absorbed.  Using a rubber spatula scrape down the sides and fold in chocolate chips.

Fill openings of your muffin tin about 2/3rds full.  You should get 15 muffins.  OK, I got 15 muffins, you might get 14, or 16 but, you just go with whatcha know.......!

Place a maraschino cherry on top of each muffin in the center.  Most of the cherries will sink to the middle, some might stay closer to the top.  No matter, bake for 18-20 minutes.  Remove and let cool completely IN the pan. 
 
Put chocolate chips in a small Ziploc bag, and microwave 30 seconds at a time until chips are melted.  Cut a TINY bit from the corner and drizzle the tops of the muffins however you want.  Let the chocolate set and serve!

Your "chocolate covered cherries are now for breakfast" chefwannabe

SouthWest Turkey Meatloaf in Pepper Rings

I love the spring!  Singing birds, gentle breezes, the smell of fresh cut grass.  OhhhHhhHhhhHH!  It makes me happy.  Spring is my favorite season, there is nothing about it I do not love.  Oh wait, did I mention I do NOT love when on May 2nd, I wake up to 3 inches of snow?  HALT that love train. 

Spring and Summer usually also means lighter food.  I don't know about you all, but, I just am not as hungry in the summer.  To many fun things to be doing and the heat, oh LAWDY the heat.  You may not think Nebraska is humid, however, I am hear to tell you, it is more humid than anywhere I have lived.  Although after my experience last summer with Georgia humidity, I will never complain again.  See, I didn't complain, I just mentioned it was humid.   Seriously though, it is definitely time for some lighter options, health wise, and weather wise. 

We are ground turkey and chicken lovin' people.  My husband almost never knows when I substitute it for ground beef.  Even if he did notice, he wouldn't mind.  We love turkey burgers and chicken burgers too!  I have been making these little meatloaf stuffed pepper rings for a long time, I just decided it was a good time to share them, since my editor (my husband) informed me I needed too.  HA   I made these in the oven, but they can easily go on your grill.  I think they would make a great wee bit fancier option to a burger too!  I have this thing with cooked peppers.  If they aren't still a little crunchy I can't eat them.  Is it wrong that I peel the burger out, add it to a toasted bun, with slices of avocado, lettuce and tomato?  Well, it is just an OPTION. 

Now, while in my family we don't groove on black beans, you could certain add some into the meat mixture.  Just please don't tell me if you did.  OK?  Or you could add some corn.  Don't tell me if you did that either.  Cilantro?  Salsa?  The options are endless, but, I guarantee the flavor is awesome, and it will be a hit, no matter how ya serve it!

1 lb ground turkey
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2-3 large bell peppers (any color)
1/2 cup grated cheddar, Monterrey jack,  OR pepper jack cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Get your peppers sliced.  I needed 7 rings for my mixture.  Cut them so you et 2-3 out of each pepper.  I think I even got 4 out of one pepper.  Keep the tops and very bottoms you cut off.  Cut them as thick or thin as you want them.  How thick they are determines how much mixture you need so go with it.  I know you can make it work!

Chop about 2 tbsp of bell pepper VERY fine to add to meat mixture.

In a bowl combine turkey, egg, bread crumbs, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper and garlic salt.  Stir in minced bell pepper as well. 

Lay the rings out on your baking sheet and fill them with your meat mixture.  Pat them flat so they fill up the entire pepper ring.   Bake for 30 minutes.   Remove pan and sprinkle cheese on top of each one. 

Put back in the oven that you have turned OFF, to melt cheese.

 

I hope you enjoy this delicious, healthy dish, that you can make in the oven OR on the grill.  Maybe even serve it along with some Mexican Rice!!

 

Your "tis the season to lighten things up" chefwannabe

 



PS.  I had a few of these leftover a couple of days later.  I used a knife and cut them up pretty well and used them for tacos.  Holy..YUM! 

 

 

 



Mom's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Welcome!!  Glad you made it here to my blog.  Make sure if you enjoy the recipes you follow directly!  Just look on the left hand side, toward the bottom and you will see where it says FOLLOWERS, click to follow there!  Remember you can also join me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest!!

 

I have another of those "heavenly" recipes!  Remember I told you we found the recipes of my late mother in law's?  Yea, well, this is one of them.  Two of the recipes, including this one, were incomplete.  This is the first one of those two, I have experimented with and worked out.  It has what I believe are all of the ingredients listed, but only 2 items listed had a measurement! ACK!!  I mixed it up as per the measurements shown and then the experimenting began.  I baked one pan of them, and let them cool, and YUCKORAMA!!  They tasted much like what a dog biscuit smells like, the really REALLY cheap ones!  I took the rest of the dough and went back to the drawing board.  I added more of this, more of that and I think I finally got it.  I don't know if this is the original measurements but they are the ones that got me to this chewy, yummy cookie!!

You almost stumped me on this one Donna, but I got your back mama!  We worked it out and are enjoying your recipe you titled simply, "Cookies". 

This is so easy, you are just going to dump everything in, making sure to leave the flour till the end.   In a large bowl or your stand mixer bowl combine,

1/2 cup butter (softened)
3 eggs
1 cup peanut butter
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup quick oats
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups flour

Mix all ingredients, add in flour and mix just until combined.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line your cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.  Using a cookie scoop, any size you like, scoop out your cookies.  Using a fork gently press down on them to make the traditional peanut butter cookie criss cross marks!  You need to push them down slightly, because they won't spread much on their own.  You can put them fairly close together for this reason.  Bake for 11-13 minutes.  Mine were perfect at 12.  Remove and put on a cooling rack.  This will yield you about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

I hope you enjoy these basic, but delicious cookies.  This is a perfect recipe to get your children in the kitchen cooking with you!!  These are the perfect cookies to use for my Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies!

Your "how much more heavenly can you get" chefwannabe

Blue Cheese Potato Salad

As most of you have probably noticed by now, this blog is really a family affair.  I am blessed to have a great husband great family who share their recipes, their food and their ideas!  I truly am thankful.

My husband works with a great group of people.   He is always discussing and sharing food ideas with them and Tyler, who works with my husband emailed me this potato salad recipe.  He was telling my husband how amazing it was, and wanted me to try it.  It is a newspaper clipping so I am not sure who the originator is, however I made a few changes anyway.  I wanted to use a few things I had on hand and sort of change up a few things so my husband would eat this.  I don't do blue cheese, so I counted on his refined palette (did I really say that?) to give me the bottom line on this one!  And yes honey, I was KIDDING.  I know he is on his lunch break at work, reading this.  I KNOW he is. 

This recipe calls for minced onion, I grated mine, you all know how hubs and I roll when it comes to onions.  It also called for a particular kind of blue cheese, and honestly I don't think it matters.  It also called for small red potatoes, to boil them, slip the skins off and dice them.  Oh for the love.....just use plain potatoes!  Make sure to add the dressing while the potatoes are still warm, so they soak it all in!  Oh wait I forgot, I substituted dijon mustard for country dijon (grainy) mustard.  And I omitted lemon juice, because you all know, I don't do lemon juice in anything savory.  No. Can. Do. 

My husband says, and I quote, "possibly the best potato salad I have ever eaten".  So there ya go.  Give it a try!! 

Blue Cheese Potato Salad
2 lbs potatoes (peeled and cubed)
4 slices of bacon (fried to crispy and drained)
2 tbsp grated onion
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp Hellman's
2 tsp cider vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese of your choice

Fill a medium pot with water, salt liberally and add in potatoes.  Bring to a boil and cook for 5-10 minutes depending on the size of your cubes.  While they are cooking, in a small bowl add in grated onion, mustard, garlic powder, sour cream, canola oil, Hellman's, cider vinegar and salt and pepper.  Whisk until combined and set aside.  Drain potatoes and put back in the warm pot.  Pour in dressing and carefully toss, don't break up the chunks!   Add crumbled bacon and blue cheese in and continue to mix.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. 

I hope you enjoy this potato salad.  Thank you Tyler for sharing your recipe!!

Your "it is almost picnic time" chefwannabe

 

Chocolate Covered Potato Chips...

I have been going to do these for SO long.  I mean, really long time.   I finally decided today was the day.  I needed a sweet treat and heck, why not, right?

I considered that this was to easy of a recipe to post.  And then, I realized, some people must have the instructions, they must.  I wonder if I was ever like that?  Give me instructions and you can bet I am straying away from them, ESPECIALLY if they are in writing!  HA!  Youngest child syndrome, it controls my life friends, it CONTROLS my life.

You can use, milk, dark, semi sweet, or white chocolate for me.  In my world, there is nothing besides milk and white, so I used both, one for dipping and one for decorating.  I mean if you groove on dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate, go with it.  OMG you could mix peanut butter and milk chocolate............oh.  OH.  OH.

Now the good thing about this "recipe" is that you won't need a whole bag of chips.  There will be plenty to snack on at midnight, in your bed, in the closet, whatever.  Is it wrong that I forgot to tell you how many I got from this batch?  I am goign to say 16-20 depending on how big your chips are.  Speaking of chips, you MUST (in my opinion) use WaVy chips!  They are sturdier and well, that is what I recommend.

Here we go.......

1 bag of milk chocolate chips (or whatever you choose)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 bag of wavy chips, (I use rrrrrruffles because they have rrrrrridges)
1/4 cup white chocolate chips or candy melts

In a small bowl pour in your chocolate chips, and vegetable oil.  Microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring each 30 seconds until melted.  You could do this in a double broiler too.  To much hassle for me though.

While it is melting sort out your chips.  You want the unbroken, unscathed, pure perfection potato chips.  Ok well, I want those, you can use whichever ones you want.  Do not use tongs for this, no forks, no toothpicks.  Scrub your hands and then get those fingers in there.  Dip one side, hold on to the wet chocolate and dip the other, it will even out when you lay it down and nobody will know your paws were on it.  Ever.  Work fast and make sure to let it drip the extra chocolate.  Lay onto a foil or parchment lined cookie sheet.  Do this with all of them and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, back at the microwave, put your white chocolate chips or candy melts in a  small Ziploc bag.  Microwave 20 seconds at a time until they are melted.  Snip the TINIEST bit off the corner and drizzle those pretzels with ribbons of beautiful white chocolate!!  Any designs you want, I just did a basic ziggy, zaggy, crissy, crossy sort of thingy. 

Refrigerate another 15 minutes and serve.  If you have a cool place to keep these, perfect otherwise leave them in the fridge until you are ready to eat!

Enjoy your treats, trust me, it is delicious!

Your "can you possibly make potato chips LESS healthy" chefwannabe