Category: Recipes

Jasberry Rice Pudding with Coconut and Honey Banana Slices

Published on by C'est le Brie3 Comments

By Natalie Anne ❤

I woke up this morning with the sun streaming into my apartment after what seemed like a never-ending row of days with rainy and cloudy weather. I had a hair appointment at a new salon I was kinda nervous about…But once I got my hair cut and colored, I knew I finally met my hair guru/stylist soulmate. When I got back to my apartment with a new cut and fresh attitude, I knew it was time to try Try the World‘s Jasberry Rice Pudding recipe from their Thailand Box. I wanted to add a side of fruit to it, so I found a recipe for fried bananas and incorporated that into the dish.

I followed the Try the World recipe except I added a spoonful of white sugar to the brown sugar and a little bit of their coconut flower syrup to the pudding as well as a few drops of vanilla extract after I removed the pudding from heat at the end.

Ingredients:

  • ⅔ cup Jasberry rice
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 13.7 oz. can coconut milk, stirred
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • Fruit (optional), for garnish

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Directions:

1. Bring the rice, salt, and 3½ cups water to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat, and let simmer 35 minutes.

2. Strain, then return the rice the pot. Stir in 1½ cups coconut milk and sugar and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce and let simmer, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes.

3. Let cool. Transfer to 4 bowls, add the remaining coconut milk, and garnish with fruit.

Fried Bananas in Coconut Oil topped with Honey and Cinnamon (recipe borrowed from PaleoLeap

Ingredients:

1 sliced banana

2 Tbsp. Honey

1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

2 Tbsp. Coconut Oil

Directions:

  1. Combine the honey with ¼ cup of warm water and mix well.
  2. Heat the coconut oil in a skillet placed over medium-high heat.
  3. Add the banana slices to the skillet and fry for 2 minutes on each side.
  4. Remove the skillet from the heat and pour the honey mixture on top.
  5. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.

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Bon Appetit!

 

Simple & Cozy Four Cheese Kielbasa Sausage Lasagna

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It was always on those especially freezing winter days when I would come home from school and smell the beginnings of this lasagna cooking on the stove. It has such a heartwarming flavor to me so it seemed appropriate to dust off my mom’s recipe and try  it out for myself during this cold February. I tweaked it a little bit and cut the original portions in half. So I would say this recipe makes about 5-6 servings. Also, don’t mind my round pan I had to cook it in, I would definitely recommend baking any lasagna in a square/rectangular dish (ideally a 10 x 10 or 10 x 12 for this recipe).

Kielbasa Tomato Sauce:

2 Cloves Garlic ( or Trader Joe’s Crushed Garlic)

1/2 White Onion

1/2 Cup Shredded Carrots (optional)

1 16 oz Package of Kielbasa Sausage (I used Hillshire Farm Polska Kiebasa)

1 28 oz Can of Tomatoes (I used Trader Joe’s Unsalted Crushed Plum Tomatoes)

1 8 oz Can Tomato Paste

1/2 Teaspoon of Basil, Parsley, Salt, and Pepper for Seasoning

Over medium heat, simmer the chopped onion, carrot, garlic and an optional smidge of olive oil in a pan. Heat up for about 2 minutes then add the chopped kielbasa. Season with basil and a dash of salt and pepper if you wish. Cook everything together for about 12-15 minutes stirring occasionally.

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Next, add a can of diced tomatoes and an 8 oz can of tomato paste. Mix everything together, season with more basil and fresh parsley, along with salt and pepper.

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Let the sauce simmer on the stove covered on low heat for at least 20 minutes.

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Noodles:

Since I was making a smaller portion I bought a smaller box of lasagna noodles (De Cecco) from a local specialty store called the Italian Store in Arlington, VA (this is also where I bought the Mozzarella and Romano).

I cooked the whole package of Lasagna noodles but didn’t use them all in the dish. I salted the water and also put a dash of olive oil in it and boiled the noodles for 8-10 minutes then drain the water. I further cooled the noodles off by running cold water over the strainer n the sink.

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Four Cheese Mixture: (make while the sauce is simmering and the noodles boiling)

1 cup Ricotta Cheese

1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese

1/3 cup Romano Cheese

1/4 cup Feta Cheese

1 Beaten Egg

Stir everything together and add a dash of black pepper.

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Once the Kielbasa Sauce has simmered for at least 20 minutes, the cheese mixture is complete, and the noodles are cooked, it’s time for the layering.

Set the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Start with one layer of lasagna noodles slightly overlapping each other in the bottom of a casserole dish (my pan accommodated 4  noodles per layer).

Next, pour a portion of the sauce over the noodles so there is a thin layer covering the entire area of lasagna noodles.

Afterwards use a spoon to place dollops of the cheese mixture over the sauce, I did 9 1-inch dollops per layer then smeared them gently to spread them out over the sauce.

Keep layering until you run out of room or ingredients and if you so desire, sprinkle some extra cheese on top before covering it with tin foil and placing it in the oven.

Cook for 30 minutes. If you want the top to be a little crunchier then take the foil off after 20 minutes of cooking and leave it uncovered for the last ten minutes.

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Voila!

Th Best S’mores Cupcakes – Graham Cracker Cupcake with Marshmallow Fluff Frosting

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by Myles Katherine ❤

So these cupcakes are DELISH. I was in a pickle the other night because I needed a treat to bring to a party and I didn’t feel like going to the grocery store. I LOVE s’mores and I’ve always wanted to try to make s’mores cupcakes. I was in luck because my boyfriend and I had recently gone on a trip so I was able to pull together all of the ingredients! It was meant to be.

 

Chocolate-filled Graham Cracker Cupcakes 

recipe makes 12 cupcakes
(derived from Baked Perfection)

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 15 whole crackers ground in processor)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk
4 hershey’s milk chocolate bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk graham crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend between additions. Beat in vanilla. Add graham-cracker mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with graham-cracker mixture. Fill cupcake liner’s 1/3 full, place two hershey squares in the middle of each cupcake, then cover with remaining batter.  Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center come out clean, about 15 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack; cool completely.

 Marshmallow Fluff Icing 

(derived from Please Pass the Pie)

1 jar of marshmallow fluff
3/4 cup softened butter
Add powdered sugar (3/4 cup to 1 cup) and vanilla extract (1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla), to taste
Add small amounts of flour to thicken if desired

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Caramel Toffee Crunch Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate and Graham Cracker Crust

Published on by C'est le Brie1 Comment

By Natalie Anne (recipe adapted from Yammie’s Noshery)

I’m always so nervous to make cheesecake because I feel like its never going to be as rich and creamy as I hope for. But this recipe blew me away. It was a bit of a process all together, but so incredibly worth it. I was home visiting my parents for Thanksgiving and I’m not the biggest fan of pumpkin pie, so I decided to try something a little more non-traditional plus this recipe made my mouth water and I couldn’t wait to try it.

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First I prepared the graham cracker crust:
3 cups of graham cracker crumbs (about 2 packages of crushed graham crackers)
1/2 cup Heath Bar Toffee Bits
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 sticks butter (1 cup), melted
1 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (I strayed from the recipe and used dark chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate and I wholeheartedly recommend it)

Preheat the oven to 300º. Combine everything (except the chocolate chips) and press into a springform pan lined with parchment paper. Push all the way up the sides and press in firmly. Spread the chocolate chips over the pressed mixture. Set the springform pan on a baking sheet (just in case it drips). Bake for about five minutes or until the chocolate chips are melty. Smooth them out with an offset spatula. Throw it in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

Next I made the Homemade Caramel Sauce:
1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup heavy cream

In a medium sauce pan, combine the sugar and syrup. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula. Once it is caramel colored, add the butter and stir until the butter is melted. Add the cream and stir until it’s all combined. Bring it back to the heat if you get clumps and stir it until they’re dissolved. Store in the refrigerator if not using right away. Makes about 3/4 cup.

*Now this was my first time making homemade caramel and I was entirely convinced I was doing the entire wrong, until I started to see the caramel color slowly come out of the sugar and syrup. I was so excited, and it tasted so heavenly. It wasn’t too thick to work with and remained light and creamy.I definitely recommend making this caramel sauce instead of using a sticky store bought one.

Cheesecake Filling:
3 packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup caramel topping (recipe below)
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and sour cream for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Add the vanilla and caramel and beat well. Add the eggs and beat just until combined. Pour into chilled crust. Wrap the springform pan with a couple of wet dishtowels (this helps the cheesecake to cook more slowly and evenly). Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. The center will still be jiggly, but never fear, it shall set in the end. Turn the oven off and open the door about 4 inches, but leave the cheesecake in for about 30 more minutes (this helps the cheesecake to cool more slowly and evenly and prevents cracking). Remove from the oven and cool for about 30 more minutes. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

Finally the Whipped Cream:
1 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 cup caramel (from your homemade wonder)
1/2 cup Heath Bar Toffee Bits

Beat the whipping cream and sugar in a chilled bowl until stiff peaks form.
Spread the caramel slowly across the cheesecake. Sprinkle the toffee bits evenly over top. Dollop the whipped cream along the edges of the cake and garnish with more toffee bits.

And there you have it, the most scrumptious cheesecake you will ever indulge in!

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❤ Natalie