Pear Honey

Hey Folks- Sorry I haven't added anything in a while. Sheldon and I have been on the Atkins diet for a couple weeks and therefore I haven't made anything tasty. Seriously, we are eating steamed vegetables and chicken.

BUT I did pick up a grip load of pears this weekend at a local farm and have been busy canning. I didn't realize how many pears I had until I started canning and had to buy more jars. I wanted to branch out and with the remaining 15 pears I decided to make this recipe I found on allrecipes.com. It's pretty darn good. At least I think it is. I had barely a taste since you know... Dr. Atkins would forbid it.

My pears were pretty ripe and they still took forever to break down, so I would highly recommend puréeing them before adding them to the pot.

Ingredients

8 cups peeled, cored and chopped pears
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
8 cups white sugar

Directions

1.Place chopped pears into a large pot, and pour pineapple juice over them to prevent them from browning. Stir in sugar, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir frequently to prevent scorching. When the pears are at a full boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until the mixture is the color and texture of honey. The longer you cook it, the thicker it gets. Cooking time is about 2 to 3 hours.
2.Ladle into hot sterile jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of the top. Wipe rims with a clean damp cloth, and seal jars with lids and rings. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.


I got 3 pints out of this recipe. So if you have a bunch of pears give it a try!

By, Michelle

PF Chang's Lettuce Wrap Knock-off

Oh how I wish I had come up with this recipe before we attempted these at our recipe club. I combined a couple recipes I found online and came up with what we decided is a pretty good copy of the real deal. I used the pre grilled chicken that's sold at the grocery store and canned mushrooms to save time. The second time I made it I cooked the chicken and used fresh mushrooms. The taste wasn't any different and it took about 3x longer to use fresh... but the decision is yours. The amount of mushroom/water chestnuts you use can be adjusted to your preference.

Ingredients

2 cooked and chopped boneless/skinless chicken breasts
2/3 cup finely chopped water chestnuts
2/3 cup finely chopped and cooked mushrooms (small can)
2 chopped green onions
1 tsp minced garlic
Lettuce leaves of your choice
Garlic and red chili paste (which may seem like a waste to buy but I also use a bit of this when I make a quick homemade marinara sauce and it's delish)

For the sauce: (This is the part I made up so you may want to adjust amounts slightly depending on your tastes and how saucy you want the chicken mixture.)

About 3 T. Hoisin sauce
2 T cider vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic

Oil your skillet. Add chicken, mushrooms, water chestnuts, green onion and garlic. Stir and cook on medium-low till heated through. (If you used fresh ingredients the chicken mixture may be a little watery in which case you will want to wait until the water cooks off before adding the sauce.) While the chicken mixture is heating up, mix together the sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk or fork.

Once chicken mixture is nice and hot pour entire sauce mixture over it. Let it warm up again and serve in your lettuce leaves. Add a little garlic and red chili paste for an extra kick. Be forewarned a little goes a LONG way with that stuff.

I hope you like it. I know it's missing the mustard but we didn't miss it.

By, Michelle

Fish Tacos

Ingredients 

Tacos:

1 pound mahi mahi
1/4 cup canola oil
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 jalapeno, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
8 torillas (we use white corn, but you can also use flour)

Cream Sauce:

1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup (or a little less) mayonnaise
add in some cilantro and lime juice to taste

Garnish:

shredded cabbage
salsa

Directions

Place fish in a medium size dish. Whisk together the oil, lime juice, chili powder, jalapeno, and cilantro and pour over the fish. Let marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.

Make cream sauce.

Heat non-stick pan (or grill if you so desire) to medium high heat. If using pan I recommend putting a little olive oil in it. Remove the fish from the marinade place onto a hot pan, flesh side down. Cook the fish for 4 minutes on the first side and then flip for 30 seconds and remove. Let rest for 5 minutes then flake the fish with a fork.

Divide the fish among the tortillas and garnish with the white sauce, salsa and cabbage to taste. You can also use hot sauce, thinly sliced red onion, or green onion.

Mine needed a little salt as well. I'm not sure if that's because I made the tortillas or not so I didn't add salt to the recipe but it may need it.

By, Michelle

Tomato Salsa

Our new fave! Sheldon is the master salsa maker and he's been using this recipe lately.

2 lg cans of Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 whole white or yellow onion
2-3 fresh tomatoes
1 (2”) jalepeno + seeds
Cilantro to taste
½ lime
Salt and pepper

In salsa maker combine tomatoes and onion, add cilantro and jalapeño. Squeeze in lime and then top with a layer of salt and pepper. Grind all as fine or course as desired. Spoon off some of the liquid and chill. YUM!


P.S. We have made it using red onions (cuz they're my fave) but I have to admit it just wasn't as good.

By, Michelle

Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

This is a recipe I found on a blog "bake at 350" but I modified it a bit by using a cake mix. Tasted good to our fam! And let's be honest... it's all about the marshmellow filling.

For the Cupcakes:

Chocolate cake mix (or see link above)

For the Filling:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla exrtact
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup marshmallow creme

For the Ganache:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the Icing:

1 stick unsalted butter
1 & 1/2 - 2 tablespoons milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla


Prepare and bake the cupcakes (using paper liners).

For the filling: Using a mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon heavy cream; beat until smooth. Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons heavy cream in batches, alternating after each addition. Beat in the marshmallow creme; set aside or refrigerate.

For the ganache: Place the chocolate in a stainless-steel bowl. Heat the cream and 1 tablespoon butter until just boiling, then pour over the chocolate; let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla; let stand until cool but still glossy and liquid.

Spoon the filling into a pastry bag with a medium star tip. Insert the tip into the center of each cupcake top; fill until the cupcake is heavier (do not overfill). (It's OK if some of the filling peeks out, it will be covered by the ganache.)

Spoon a little ganache on each cupcake and lightly spread with an offset spatula or a knife. (I also found that dipping the cupcake in the ganache worked quite well.) Chill for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the icing: Using a mixer, beat the remaining 1 stick butter, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, the milk and confectioners’ sugar until smooth, adding more milk if needed. Spoon into a pastry bag with a small tip (I used a #2 plain tip); pipe onto the cupcakes to decorate.

Store in the refrigerator.

By, MIchelle

Easy Chocolate Truffles

Soooo good (and super easy too).

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce package Phili cream cheese
3 cups powdered sugar
12 (1 ounce) squares Baker's semi-sweet baking chocolate (melted)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Suggested coatings, such as ground walnuts, unsweetened cocoa, powdered sugar and/or angel flake coconut.

Beat cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add sugar, mixing until well blended.

Add melted chocolate and vanilla, mix well. Refrigerate 1 hour until chilled.

Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in walnuts, cocoa, powdered sugar or coconut. store in refrigerator.

I've also added some raspberry flavoring to the truffles and it was delish!

By, Michelle

Chicken Salad

A good way to use any left over rotissery chicken.

2 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1 cup halved red grapes
3/4 cup mayo
1 T dried parsely flakes
2 tsp finely minced red onion
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Combine chicken, bacon, celery, and grapes in a large bowl and set aside. In another bowl whisk together remaining ingredients; add to salad and toss to coat. Chill until serving.

Original recipe found on allrecipes.com. I did tweek it a bit.

By Michelle