Thursday, April 28, 2011

Margarita Pie

This is a pie that really screams SUMMER. It tastes just like a great margarita minus the alcohol.


Ingredients
2/3 c Margarita Mix
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
1 graham cracker pie shell


Pre-heat ovent to 400 degrees. Whisk all ingredients together and pour into shell. Bake 7-10 minutes.

Santa Fe Wraps

Ingredients
1/2 c Light Mayo
1 tablspoon lime juice
1 tsp. chili powder
3 c cooked chicken, shredded
1 can Rotel
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1/4 c chopped cilantro
7 Large tortillas.


Mix mayo, lime juice and chili powder in a large bowl. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Spoon mixture into each tortilla and roll up. Cut in half at an angle to serve.

Spiked Lemon-Blueberry Sweet Tea

Ingredients
1 (12oz) package frozen blueberries
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 large tea bags
3/4 c sugar
Bourbon


Bring blueberries and lemon to a boil in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionaly, about 5 minutes. Pour through a strainer into a bowl. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add the tea bags. Let stand about 5 minutes. Remove tea bags. Pour in blueberry mixture and sugar. Add to a pitcher and stir in bourbon. I love the taste of bourbon so I make my a little strong. Chill for about an hour before serving.

White Bean Chili


Ingredients 
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3/4 cup diced onion
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper 
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 1/2 cups chopped green chiles (fresh or canned)
1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
2 15-ounce cans navy beans, drained and rinsed

In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion; cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until slightly softened. Add the chicken, cumin, white pepper and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and 1 to 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring, until the chicken is slightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the spinach and cook, until they are slightly wilted, about 5 minutes.
Add the chiles and chicken broth and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 20 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in the beans and cook for another 10 minutes.

Spicy Sausage Triangles

This may seem like a daughting task after reading the directions but it is actually very easy. Ingredients
1 package phyllo dough, thawed
1/2 pound of breakfast sausage
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/3 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
1 packet HOT taco seasoning
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Salt

Cook sausage. While cooking add a third of the packet of taco seasoning. Add to a large bowl. Whisk eggs and milk together. Add anothe third of the packet of taco seasoing to the egg mixture. Lightly season with salt. Cook eggs through. Add to bowl along with jalapeno, cheese and cilantro and mix.

**** Make sure to keep phyllo dough covered with saran wrap and a damp towel. This will prevent it from drying out when not being used.

To make triangles:
1. Layer for sheets of phyllo dough on top of each other. Brush each sheet with melted butter.
2. Cup layers into 5 sections length wise.
3. Spoon a slight tablespoon of mixture ontothe top of the dough.
4. Begin folding by taking one corner and folding it down to the opposite side forming a triangle.
5. Keep folding until end of strip.
6. Repeat 1-5 until all of triangles are made.
7. Brush each triangle with melted butter before baking.
8. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Mini Pancake Bites

This is a super easy recipe that lends itself to creativity. I made these for my co-workers and they were a big hit. I use the boxed pancake mix because it's a lot easier and CHEAPER!!!
Ingredients
Prepared pancake batter (6-12 servings)
2 oz sofented cream cheese
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 tsp. Lemon extract

***I also make a blueberry version where I add about 11/2 cups of blueberries to the batter.

Cream Cheese Filling
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbls juice of an orange

Peach Preserve Filling
1 cup your favorite Peach preserves. I use my mother's home made preserves.

Glaze
Powdered sugar
Orange juice
*** Lemon juice- I use the lemon juice for the blueberry version

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini muffin pan with non-stick spray. Prepare pancake batter as directed. Beat in cream cheese. Add both extracts. Pour batter into each muffin tin 3/4 full. Bake for 8- 10 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes and remove from tin.

While bites are cooling, prepare cream cheese filling by mixing all ingredients together in a small bowl. I used a cooking syringe to fill muffins but you can also use a pastry bag and tip. From the bottom of the muffin, insert syringe into muffin and insert as much filling as you like. Do not over fill or your little muffins will EXPLODE! I fill half of the batch with the cream cheese filling and the other with the preserves.

Now making the glaze is where YOU come into play. This can be sort of a give and take. I start with about 3 tablespoons of powder sugar and 1 tablespoon of orange juice or lemon juice. Whisk together with a fork. You can adjust this to make the glaze thicker or thiner. Dip the top of each muffin top into the glaze let dry.

Makes 24-32.