Happy New Year!

Edible Gifts

I decided that I was going to make cookie gifts to give this year. It was time consuming and detailed but I loved that I put my time and positive energy into something I wanted to do for others. A small gesture of love and thanks.

My workstation (peep that Redskins helmet in the background YEAH!)

bagged and tagged

red ribbon for flare!

Holiday Pix!!

Ohh, it's that magical time of the year...tree decorating!! Boxed holiday decorations were hauled out from the shed, dusted off and thrown with careless abandon on the tree. Ok, maybe not thrown but haphazardly placed..??? How about the tree is finally up and dressed?? OK!!!



Tangled lights? NOOO




Melted candle!!!!

Lights off...

Lights on...

A special note for Santa...

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love me some cookies. Seriously, the Cookie Monster should be my avatar! I once had his song "C is for cookie, that's good enough for me" as my ring tone. So as usual, I'm fiending for some cookies and coming up empty. I pull out my trusty FAT binder of recipes and waa-laa! found this gem tucked away among the soups and pastas. I really do need to organize that recipe binder but that is another story! :) Since it was snowy and cold out I knew that this oatmeal cookie with chocolate chip goodness would warm me right up!

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
•  1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Pre-heat your oven to 350.

Are you ready??

In a large bowl you will  mix the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.

Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt.

Add the rolled oats.

And don't forget the chocolate chips!!

Mix the ingrediants well: scoop onto pan.

Bake 20-25 minutes.

Let them cool on a rack.

NOM!! NOM!! NOM!!

Red Velvet Creamcheese Cupcakes

Did I mention I love sweets? Oh yeah!! That sweet tooth of mine is sanging out loud this month!! LA LA LA LA LAAAAAA!! I've always been intrigued by this so called red velvet cake. Never had it before so when I came across this gem I said "Girl, you gots to do it." So I did!

1 box red velvet cake mix, Duncan Hines
2 8oz boxes of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
**cupcake liners**

Makes approx 24 cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350. Place cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla and lemon juice in medium bowl; beat with mixer on medium speed until smooth. Set aside. Prepare cake as per instructions on the box.

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full of cake batter. Drop 2 teaspoons of cream cheese filling in the center of the batter.

Bake the cupcakes on center rack for about 25 minutes. Poke with a toothpick and if it comes out clean, their done! Let them cool and then remove from the pan. I let them finish cooling on a wire rack.

Store them in the fridge, covered for freshness.

COQUITO - PuertoRican Eggnog

Another Rican treat!!! I made enough for two bottles and as fast as this flows I know I should have made more...I should own some stock in Bacardi!!

• 30oz coconut milk
• 14oz condensed milk
• 1 cup Bacardi, more or less to taste
• 1/2 cup water, to keep drink from thickening in fridge
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Hello my Lovelies!!
Mix all ingrediants in a blender. Taste for rum-iness. Add more Bacardi if you wish. SMILE. Pour into bottle and refridgerate well.

my ever faithful yellow funnel of life. :)

Recycle bottles for your goodies!

Bacalao (Codfish) with Puerto Rican Sauce

This is one of may favorites growing up! I remember my grandmother in the kitchen letting this very salty fish sit in a bowl so it would dilute the salt. I can smell the garlic and onions, the taste of the olives and and tomato sauce sizzling in the olive oil....MmmMmMmmmMMMMm!! Plus I had a special request for a spanish dish so I thought why not?

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced
• 3/4 cup water
• 18 olives, more or less to taste
• 2 tbsp capers
• 1 4oz can pimentos, sliced
• 1 12oz can tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 lb Bacalao

the salt is caked on this fish so you must first boil and rinse the fish before cooking.

ASI!
Prepare your sauce by mixing the first 10 ingrediants and cooking them over medium low heat for about 45 minutes.

Next, take your Bacalao and rinse off all of the excess salt. Then place the fish in a pot of water; bring to boil 5 minutes. Drain all of the salty water and rinse the fish again and taste a small piece. Too salty? Boil again for another 10 minutes. If it's ok, then add it to the sauce so they can continue to marinade together.
Make sure you find and dispose of the two bay leaves; serve with rice.

Don't forget your rice!!! GOYA makes it tasteful and easy.

SABROSO!


Super Easy Peach Cobbler

Wow! This was a quick dessert to make! Lucky me that I had everything stocked too. My only hiccup was that I used a 13 x 9 rectangular baking dish which caused my dessert to come out looking rather flat. I wil try it again using square baking dish, my guess that would be a 9 x 9...? Either way, it did not take away from the sweetness! Try it with a side of vanilla ice cream and yo wont go wrong!

• large can of sliced peaches (28oz?)
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp baking powder

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Pour butter into bottom of baking dish. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in bowl. Stir in sugar and milk to create batter. Pour batter into your baking dish. Spoon peaches into the batter. Spoon a little bit of the juice evenly on top. Not too much now! Bake for 30 minutes; browned on top.

on it's way!

baked goodness!

with a side of vanilla ice cream - MUAH!

Baking with Gingy!

My Gingy!

Pampered Chef and Pillsbury...

cooling off

think Santa will get one of these??

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I've always wondered what a tortilla soup would taste like and the pictures were so colorful so I figured it had to be good! The weather is definatley calling out for some hot soup! Brrr!!

What you need:
1 cup chopped sweet onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 or 2 jalapeno peppers
1 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
2 cans mexicorn
1 large tomato, chopped
2 14oz cans chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, coarsely shredded
1/2 cup cilantro, cut
2 cups tortilla chips, crushed into small pieces
1 cup shredded monterey or mozzerella cheese

• In a large pot cook chopped onion, garlic, peppers and cumin in hot oil for about 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
   

• Add mexicorn, tomato, chicken broth, chicken and cilantro. 

• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer; keep covered about 10 minutes.

• To serve, ladle soup atop crushed chips in soup bowl and add shredded cheese on top. You can add more tortilla chips, a lime wedge and cilantro as a garnish.

A hearty fresh soup in time for the winter!

Sangria

All this talk about food has made me thirsty. So I made this tasty and refreshing sangria. It's very easy to make and I may make it my go-to happy hour drink. Ahhhhh!!!

What you need:

1 bottle of red wine - your choice (I used Livingston Sangria wine)
2 cups ginger ale or club soda (I used ginger ale)
1 lemon, wedged
1 orange, wedged
1 shot brandy ( I used Paul Masson)
2 tbsp sugar

I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready!

My wine was room temp so I left the ice in it to chill.

Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon and orange into the wine.
Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and add sugar and brandy.
Add ginger ale or club soda just before serving.
If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled red wine and serve over lots of ice.

Football Sunday Menu

Now I don't know about you but I love me some football!! I follow the Washington Redskins (hey now!) and every Sunday a big foodfest is going down! Now there is no particular recipes used for the following pictures, this is just to show y'all why I can't lose any weight. LOL Enjoy!

cracker barrel cheese for homemade mac-n-cheese

cheesy goodness!!

collard greens, onions and turkey necks

NO, these are NOT noodles..try chitterlings...(ew)

apparently, hot sauce with chittlens makes them taste...better

buns are a'rising!!

red snapper

steamed crabs and shrimp...now we talking!!!

fried chicken with mumbo sauce

fried yucca fries, very tasty!!