Dulce de Leche Crepe Cake

This was supposed to be my 400th post.  It seemed like just the right kind of show-stopper for the big 4-0-0.  Unfortunately, it was fairly unattractive and not the most delicious cake I've ever made either.  So I shall walk you through this crepe cake since it was a fair amount of work, but I would not entirely recommend that you make one yourself.

The recipe was from Food Network Magazine and can be seen here.  Once again I will state that I do not recommend that you make this recipe and with only 3 stars, neither does the Food Network community.

Here are the chocolate crepes eagerly waiting to be slathered with dulce de leche frosting.

I assembled this cake shortly before we ate it, but apparently it was too long for the cake to sit.  The frosting separated and started oozing into a puddle on the plate.  You can see by this photo that it was not a pretty cake.  It was so unappetizing looking that I refused to let anyone view it.  I cut the slices in the kitchen and  brought them out to the eaters in the other room.

Above you can see a slice of the cake with all the crepe layers.  The frosting is entirely too sweet and the cake is very difficult to cut.

What sounded like a fantastic recipe was a real let down.  Sorry guys.  Wish me luck coming up with a successful 400th post!

Buffalo Chicken with Blue Cheese Toasts

This recipe is a great way to get that buffalo wing flavor without the fat and mess of deep frying.  It's also way neater to eat!  It all comes together quickly for an easy weeknight meal.

Buffalo Chicken with Blue Cheese Toast

Ingredients
1lb thin sliced chicken breasts
1/4 c flour
salt and pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 c chicken broth
1/3 c hot sauce, I used siracha
4 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 c blue cheese
8 slices baguette

1.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.  Heat oil in a large skillet, cook chicken until brown on each side.
2.  Add broth and hot sauce and cook until chicken is cooked through and sauce has reduced.  Whisk in 2 tbsp butter.
3.  For toasts: combine 2 tbsp butter and blue cheese in a small bowl.  Spread mixture on baguette slices.  Broil until bubbly and slightly browned.  Serve alongside chicken.

I also made a simple green bean and almond side dish to get some nutrients in my belly.

Love, love, loooooved this recipe.  The blue cheese toasts are a must have!

Satisfries Review

Burger King recently came out with a new kind of french fry.  These Satisfries are krinkle cut fries with 40% less fat and 30% less calories than regular fries.  For some reason those stats that they post on the website are compared to McDonald's fries.

Here's a breakdown of the nutrition facts for small fries vs small satisfries.

calories: 340-270

fat: 15-11

sodium: 480-300

carbs: 49-41

Now, we all know this blog has never been about making healthy choices.  What intrigued me most about Satisfries was the fact that it meant Burger King has new fries.  I find their regular fries to be pretty disappointing as fast food french fries go.  They are for certain bottom of the barrel.

Satisfries on the other hand are a huge improvement in the BK fry world.  Everything about Satisfries is better than their regular french fries.  Below you can see a close up of the insides of each fry.  The inside of the Satisfries are less grainy and have a more real potato taste than the regular fry.

An upgrade to Satisfries will set you back a bit price-wise, but I would highly recommend doing it.  Satisfries are an improvement in taste, texture, and apparently nutrition.

Pasta with Roasted Garlic Sauce

This recipe will not only give you a great pasta dish, but it also gives you a new, quicker, technique for roasting garlic.  Instead of taking an hour to roast in the oven, this recipe roasts up the garlic on the stove in about 15 minutes.

Below you can see the remains of the 4 heads of garlic that go into this sauce.  Yes, you read that correctly.  There are 4 heads of garlic equating to about 50 cloves in this sauce.  Peeling the garlic is the most time consuming and difficult portion of this recipe.  

Pasta with Roasted Garlic Sauce

Adapted from Cook's Country Magazine

Ingredients

50 cloves of garlic, about 4 heads, peeled

3 tbsp olive oil

1 c chicken broth

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

1 lb spaghetti

4 oz arugula

grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

1. Combine garlic and oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is browned all over.  Add broth, vinegar, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered until garlic softens.  Pour garlic mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.

2. Cook spaghetti according to package directions, reserve 1/2 cup cooking water.  Drain pasta and return to the pot.  Mix in garlic sauce, arugula, and reserved pasta water.  Season with salt and pepper and serve with Parmesan cheese.

I used a blender to blend the sauce, you could also use a food processor.

If you decide to use pre-peeled garlic cloves this would be a super quick weeknight meal with barely any prep work.

Saw this little spaghetti heart in my bowl and thought that summed up how I felt about this dish. 

Love, love, love it!

Shrimp and Bacon Pizza

Shrimp and bacon sounds pretty darn indulgent doesn't it?  Top it on a pizza and you've got yourself a serious upgrade to your usual tomato sauce and cheese pie.

Shrimp and Bacon Pizza
Adapted from Cook's Country Magazine

Ingredients
8 oz shrimp, peeled, deveined, patted dry, and chopped into bite-sized pieces
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 pizza dough
1 1/2 cups mozzarella, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
2 tbsp oil

1. Preheat oven to 500.  In a small bowl mix shrimp, bacon, garlic, and oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Spread evenly atop prepared pizza dough.  Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
2. Cook until crust has browned and shrimp is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

This pizza was really quite exquisite and a definite welcome change from your usual pizza toppings.

Slow Cooker Siracha BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

We're a little slow on the uptake here with the Siracha revolution.  It seems we may have been some of the last people on earth to get into it, but here we are!  Sweet delicious siracha is now a pantry staple.  We upgraded to the large bottle this time, things are getting serious.

See that ingredient line-up?  You totally have all those things, so go make this.

Siracha BBQ Chicken
Adapted from Foodie With A Family

Ingredients
3/4 cup ketchup
3 tbsp siracha, or less if you'd like it less spicy
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 package boneless skinless chicken, 1.5 lbs was what I used, I'm sure it would work with 2 or 1 lb
4 rolls

1. Mix first 8 ingredients in a bowl. Season chicken with salt and pepper, place in slow cooker.  Pour sauce mixture over chicken.  Cook on low 4 hours.  Chicken should fall apart easily.

2. Shred chicken while still in slow cooker and make sure it's nicely combined with the sauce.  Place atop toasted rolls.

It's totally healthy because we ate Brussels sprouts with them which by the way actually come from Brussels.  Amazing right? Stop and Shop is importing sprouts from Brussels, they are legit. 

These sandwiches are a super easy, and sloppy, dinner that you really need to try.

Sweet and Spicy Pork Tacos

The sweet? Pineapple.  The spicy? Chipotle peppers.  Don't be weirded out by the addition of pineapple here.  It works really well with the pork and actually soaks up lots of chiptole.  You end up with spicy pineapple chunks in your tacos and that is pretty tasty.

Sweet and Spicy Pork Tacos
Adapted from Cook's Country Magazine

Ingredients
1 lb boneless pork ribs chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 can chopped pineapple, with 1/2 cup juice reserved
1 tbsp diced chipotles in a adobo
salt and pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp cumin
cilantro
torillas

1. Season pork with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet.  Cook pork in skillet until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
2. Add additional tbsp of oil, cumin, and garlic, cook until fragrant.  Add pineapple juice and chipotle, bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until pork is cooked through and sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes.
3. Garnish with cilantro and serve in warmed tortillas.

This is a great quick and easy weeknight meal.  Delicious and easy, what more can you ask for?

Tiramisu Brownies

It's been a while since I baked anything huh?  Here is a simple, but elevated brownie recipe using a box mix.  These tiramisu brownies look great, are easy to put together, and taste delicious.

Tiramisu Brownies

Ingredients

1 box brownie mix

1/2 cup oil

1 egg

1/2 cup brewed coffee

1 8oz package cream cheese

1 8oz container of marscapone cheese

3 tbsp sugar

cocoa, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 8x8 pan.

2. In a mixing bowl mix together brownie mix, 1/2 cup oil, 1 egg, and 1/4 cup of coffee until combined.  Cook according to package directions.

3. Using a toothpick, poke holes in the cooked brownies.  Pour 1/4 cup of coffee over the top. Allow brownies to cool for about 1 hour.

4. Combine cream cheese, marscapone, and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Spread over cooled brownies.  Dust with powdered sugar.

5. Wait until brownies are completely cooled to cut and serve.

How gorgeous are these babies?

The answer is totally gorgeous.  

These are a great way to jazz up an ordinary brownie mix.