It was cold outside, I had been cleaning closets and organizing all day and found I was dying for something sweet, but nothing heavy.. Enter the Cinnamon Popover. -sigh-
Using the recipe which I use for eclairs and tweeting it a wee bit, I was able to make something amazing, which is not nearly as much work as my homemade eclairs! (yay!)
I will tell you this was simply delish and simply gone before I batted an eye. Make a double recipe, you'll thank me!
Glazed Cinnamon Pop Overs
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp melted margarine
3 Large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
Topping:
2 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
2 Tbsp milk
Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a muffin tin.
Combine milk, butter, eggs, vanilla, salt, sugar and flour on low speed with your mixer. Blend until well combined but not frothy. Fill each cup of the tin about 2/3 of the way full, dividing the batter evenly. Bake for about 35-40 minutes.
Let cool 5-10 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack.
While the pop overs are cooling melt the butter and allow to cool for a few minutes. In a small bowl combine your sugar and cinnamon for a topping and set aside. In another small bowl combine your confectioner's sugar and milk with a small wire whisk to make your glaze.
Once the pop overs are cooled enough to handle, brush the tops and sides of each popover with butter and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar to cover. Then, using a fork or spoon, drizzle each pop over with the glaze mixture.
This makes 9 pop overs.
Glazed Cinnamon Pop Overs
Baked Salmon Packets with Spinach, Feta, Ranch and Bacon
(Apologies for the picture... I had help, who apparently has a shake @_@... In all fairness I did stand over him with directions about what to get and not get in the shot, which apparently made him nervous about his first blog photo!)
There is nothing lazier than making foil packets: Foil, meat, veggies, fold and into the stove! Some days that is about all I can muster up! And earlier this week I had that sort of day.
Reed told me I had to blog about it because he fell in LOVE with the flavor combination. So here goes:
Salmon Packets with Spinach, Feta, Ranch and Bacon
4 x 5oz Salmon fillets (with or without skin)
1/4 cup Ranch Dressing
1 1/2 cups Spinach
4 tbsp Feta Cheese
4 tsp bacon bits
Measure out lengths of foil that can be foiled over to cover each into a sealed packet. Divide evenly all the ingredients above. I layered mine like this: Spinach first, salmon (if you have skinned salmon, be sure to place skin side down), feta, ranch dressing and bacon bits. Then fold the foil over and fold each of the corners to create a sealed packet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until your salmon is flaky.
Shelle's Spaghetti Casserole
When its cold outside, my natural proclivity for snuggling in and being lazy wins. And, sometimes that is a good thing. :) This recipe came from my desire NOT to go to the store and NOT deal with lasagna noodles. I first made this -mumble- years ago, and it has been a staple in our menu since. I hope you enjoy!!
(this makes a LOT, so be prepared)
Shelle's Spaghetti Casserole
* 1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente
* 1/2 of a box (4 oz) of cream cheese
* 1- 16oz container small curd cottage cheese
* 1/8 cup dried parsley
* 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
* 4 cups of spaghetti sauce (made however you like it. Mine, as shown, has Italian sausage. You may make homemade sauce, or just a big glass jar of sauce with whatever add-ins you like.)
* 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Spray an 11x7 inch glass cooking pan lightly with cooking spray and layer in the cooked spaghetti.
In a small bowl, mix together on low speed the cream cheese, cottage cheese and parsley. If the mixture is too thick, a bit of milk may be added to thin the mixture out. Spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the spaghetti layer.
Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top of the cream cheese layer, then cover with your spaghetti sauce mixture.
Bake in a 425 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the casserole is bubbly. Layer your mozzarella cheese on top of the cooked casserole and bake until the cheese is melted (approximately 5 minutes).
Shelle's Hash Brown and Cheddar Soup
I love hash brown casserole. I only make it 2x a year (Christmas and Easter) so the rest of the year I am reminiscing about the taste and the memories of being together as a family. I thought I could take the ingredients, and some how form it into a soup we could enjoy the rest of the year. This is what I have come up with... Its a lot of ingredients, but once you get them together, there is very little left to do but leave it alone until its cooked. :)
My budding little chef advised me to add bacon as a garnish as well... it took it from good to amazing!! :)
Shelle's Hash Brown and Cheddar Soup
*2 Tbsp unsalted butter
*1 stalk celery, diced finely
*1/4 cup onion, chopped finely
*2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
*3 cups Chicken stock
*5 cups Water
*2 pounds potatoes, peeled and shredded
*1/2 c half & half
*4 oz white cheddar, shredded
*8 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
*1/2 -1 t Worcestershire sauce
*2 chicken bouillon cubes
*1 tsp fresh chopped parsley
*1/2 tsp black pepper
*1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning (like Tony Chachere's)
*sour cream (to garnish)
In a large pot melt the butter and saute the celery and onion until tender or translucent. Add the flour in and stir. Slowly add the chicken stock to the vegetables and flour mixture (which is called a roux) until all the lumps disappear.
Combine all the remaining ingredients in the same large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in a bit of sour cream as a garnish, if desired.
My Holiday House: Valentine's Day (Part II)
Here are a few more things from around my house for Valentine's Day!
This is my piano-scape. It is pretty simple, but I really enjoy it. The wreath is simply some felt roses on foam-board tied up with a tulle ribbon. It was time consuming making the felt roses, but it is just gorgeous.
Some candles, a bit of "Love" artwork and a pretty bird house (I don't know why I have this bird theme going this year) completes the look for the piano!
I forgot to make a post about my wonderful Goodwill find in my mirror. I had been looking for something to put above that gargantuan tv and was not successful. The problem is having busy art takes away from the pleasure of tv viewing, and I could find nothing I like short of just plain color panels.
Then I happened upon this beauty. She is the same width as my LCD tv and just needed some love. A bit of wood filler, some sanding, spray painting and new hardware and I took this $6.50 thrift store find into something GORGEOUS!
The decor for the mirror are simple "L-O-V-E" letters printed on cardstock and tied up with pretty ribbon and two 't-shirt' pom-poms. I adore the look!!
My TV, being the star of that room, always gets a wee bit of decor, but nothing to take away from tv watching. I made conversation heart topiaries for either side of the tv, and planted them in little clay pots painted red. In front of each I have little chalkboards with "Love You" and "Be Mine" painted on them by my son.
The topiaries are adorable, but you will be surprised how many of those hearts and how much hot glue it will take to create them!
I made hearts from two pink pipe cleaners twisted together to give it some heft. The add just enough pink without making me crazy!!
The little signs are cute, too, aren't they? I added some pearl seeds to the hearts he painted to make them pop just a bit more.
Oh, in the corner you can see another great Goodwill find! I got these two large wooded candlesticks for $2.50 for the pair. I ADORE them. They were already painted white, so I just antiqued them with some sanding and a light coat of acryllic paint in some of the more worn areas. :)
This is a close up of the greenery in the front of the TV. Its the same greenery I used for winter, just adding in some heart picks I found at the Dollar Tree and a pretty bow of tulle!
I think it is just lovely!
**Sorry about the drawer being open. That is where the digital converter box is... it seems to always be open!**
Finally we have my front door! I LOVE my heart. This is scrapbook paper woven and modge-podged to a foamcore board. Around the outside I have little felt roses and to make it even grander I have the outside completely circled in tulle. It makes a statement... Even the lovely mail-lady rang my bell today to tell me how pretty it was! :D
**Now that I look at the picture I see a couple areas that are not as full with tulle. Sigh! I need to shut the door and not think about it, right? Not take it down and fix it.. -sigh-**
Here is a close up of the weave. This was SO time consuming. I watched several movies while cutting and weaving these bits. Oh, I probably will not do it EVER again, but it was a nice addition to this year's pretty decoration. :)
My Holiday House: Valentine's Day (Part I)
Valentine's Day is probably one of my least favorite holidays to decorate the house around. I am just not that big of a fan of pink! But I did my very best trying to decorate a little, to get into the holiday spirit.
I didn't do a lot, but I did have some fun playing with some new crafts. This wreath is made from left over scrapbook paper, cut to fit around the wreath, and then trimmed into 1/2 inch fringe. I made a bow, roses and rose petals from left over felt. :) Nice to clean those items out of my file folders and scrap box!!
The bunny was a on clearance last year at Garden Ridge, the flowers were a gift from a baby shower trivia contest, and I purchase more candles than anyone should! I always have these things burning around the house. I love the aroma as well as the flickering light. :)
This was also a left overs craft. More of the same scrapbook paper used on the wreath above, a limb from my chinese maple tree in the front yard, some felt birds I stitched together while watching an episode of "Lie to Me", a crystal bowl I had lying around unused, and a bit of ribbon which came off of a mother's day gift from Reed (think it was a Bed and Bath pre-pack thingy). I simply crammed it all down into the bowl and voila! instant prettiness!
The print I found online from a craft blog (which I forgot to keep a link of to reference! Sorry!!!) and I simply stuck into a Dollar Store frame!
Now to my tablescape... Garden Ridge chargers, 4 red plates picked up at Goodwill, 4 pretty little heart bowls (99 cents each at Michaels), which totally makes me happy. I love the bright colors, albeit is hard to tell with the lighting on this picture. I really need to invest in a good camera and quite relying on my cell camera!! :)
My centerpiece consists of 3 pretty glass votive holders I found at Goodwill for $1.50 for the whole set, a brass bowl full of red velvety roses and white baby's breath, and my special card from Reed's 4 year old preschool Valentine's Day that says ""Thumb"body Loves you!"
Yeah, its too sweet not to include every year in my decoration!!
The whole center consists of 2 foam board heart shaped cut outs, with gold beading along the side and silk paper twisted into roses. It adds a splash of color underneath, and was too simple to make!!
I will have more pictures uploaded soon!
Shelle's Thai Peanut Chicken
As you know, or don't know, peanut butter is my least favorite food in the world. I think it comes from 4 years of college at a school with a horrible kitchen. :) I spent the 4 years eating fruit, salads, and whatever I could keep on hand in my dorm room (which was mostly peanut butter and jelly). So cooking a recipe with peanut butter is totally out of style for me. But I was in the mood for Thai food, am cheap and didn't wish to spend my limited $$, so creating a recipe on a budget was a necessity.
I must have been on a sweet kick yesterday as I served this with sweet corn on the side, and a spinach, feta and apple salad with raspberry vinaigrette. :)
Shelle's Thai Peanut Chicken
* 3/4 cup water
* 1/2 tsp garlic powder
* 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
* 1/4 tsp ground ginger
* 3 tbsp soy sauce
* 1 tbsp sesame oil
* 1/4 cup honey
* 2/3 cup chunky peanut butter
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 pound cubed boneless chicken breast
* 2 cups shredded carrots
* 1/2 cup chopped scallion whites
* 1/4 cup chopped scallion greens
* Cooked rice
In a small bowl, whisk together water, honey, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, ginger, soy, sesame oil and the peanut butter.
In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
In the same skillet, cook the carrots and 1/2 cup chopped scallion whites over medium heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the peanut butter mixture. Return the chicken and its juices to the pan and cook, stirring, until heated through; season with salt and pepper, if needed.
Top with 1/4 cup chopped scallion greens and serve with cooked rice.
