Peanut Butter Banana Truffles

I kept seeing this recipe floating around but never thought to try it until I started getting into making chocolate covered treats.  I'm probably the last person on earth to know that chocolate, bananas and peanut butter go together, but now that I know, I'm setting this one on the top of my chocolate covered list.  Even better, is to freeze them. I cannot explain it any better other than to say its an amazing bite of deliciousness.  From the ice cold banana, to the sprinkle of salt on the chocolate, these are without a doubt a hit.

What You Need:

• 2 bananas - slice them into 1/2 inch pieces.
• 2tbs of creamy peanut butter
• 1 tbs heavy cream
• 1/4 cup or confectioners sugar 
• 1 bag of Wiltons chocolate melts 
• Sea Salt
• Toothpicks
• Wax or Parchment paper
• Baking sheet

Directions:

• Line the baking sheet with the wax or parchment paper
• Place the sliced bananas on the sheet and set aside for a moment.

• Mix the peanut butter, confectioners sugar and heavy cream together. At this point the peanut butter will be thicker and you can take a bit and place on top of the banana slices.

• Melt your chocolate (I personally prefer to use Wiltons versus the Nestle morsels because of how easily and quickly they melt).
• Dip each of the banana/PB slices into the chocolate. Swirl it around to ensure its all coated.  Using a toothpick, transfer back to the baking sheet.
• Sprinkle a little sea salt and any other sprinkles you want.
• Place in freezer for an hour or so. More or less is up to you.
• You're Done!

Wonton Pizza Crisps

(Original recipe can be found at Wendy See Wendy Do)

Every time I buy wonton wrappers or egg roll wrappers, I'm left with a stack I have no idea what to do with. Today I decided to hunt down something new to try with the leftover wrappers versus letting them sit for months and get freezer burn and then I'd have to toss them. I found countless recipes for rolls and dumplings of all kinds - basically the standard. THEN, I came upon this greatness.  These little crispy squares were the perfect dinner snack for my 5 year old and I.  Made up and on the table in approximately 10 minutes total, we spent the rest of the evening playing Batman Lego 2 and munching on them. These are definitely a keeper and I can see changing them up in different ways to make other kinds of mini pizzas chips, which, they totally were like a chip.

What You Will Need:

• 12 Wontons wrappers  (if frozen, just microwave for 20 seconds to thaw)
• 12 Slices of Pepperon
• Mozzarella Cheese - shredded
• Italian Herb Seasoning
• Nonstick Cooking Spray
• A baking sheet

What To Do:

• Crank that oven up on 375.
• Spray some non stick cooking spray to cover the base.
• Lay your 12 wrappers - 4 per row - making sure they don't touch each other.
• Spray the wrappers
• Sprinkle the cheese.
• Sprinkle the seasoning.
• Top it off with a pepperoni slice and pop it in the oven.
• Bake for 6-8 minutes.  

Here is where I'd say it depends on your oven. I initially did 8 minutes which toasted them pretty quickly, turning them brown. Not burnt tasting though, but not fancy pretty either.  I did another batch and this time I let them go for 6 minutes, checking the cheese melting process and getting what I had hoped for. The brown ones didn't go to waste at all, I just alternated them with the lighter colored ones when I stacked and served.

How easy was that?! 5 year old approved. Dinner done in a jiffy. Cleanup minimal. Playtime abundant. Happy and full.  This was a good, easy night. Mom approved.

Lemon-Lime Sugar Cookie Truffles

I've tried several different kinds of cake balls thus far, but I've never made them with a cookie mix. In fact, I've also never made them without using the Babycakes maker and the whole point of me getting that thing was because I thought it would be easier.  BUT, after making these truffles by hand, I am thinking I may opt for this method more often. Both ways have their pros and cons of course.

So I've never zested a lime or lemon ever in my life....and its generally something I've avoided because it sounded, well I'm not even sure what it sounded like but whenever I would see a recipe that involved zesting something, I'd ditch the entire recipe.  I've also never really considered lemon treats either. I'm not sure why.  Anyhow, I saw these amazing truffles over at Singforyoursupperblog and the yellow sprinkles lured me in. I decided I'd totally conquer the zesting and not to mention everyone here loves sugar cookies so this could easily be a win.  

What You Will Need:

• 1 bag of store bought sugar cookie mix (or make your own)   
• 1 1/2 blocks of cream cheese (12 ounces) - room temperature.
• 2 bags of Wiltons Candy Melts - white chocolate  (or any other brand. I just prefer Wiltons)
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime.
• Yellow sprinkles

What You Should Do:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  
• Follow the directions on the bag of sugar cookies or recipe.
• Add the lemon and lime zest and juice and mix mix mix.

I zested and I liked it.
(click the pic )

• Once everything is mixed well, spread the dough in a 9x9 baking dish that you've sprayed with some nonstick spray. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

• Cool completely. Meanwhile, go ahead and set the cream cheese out on the counter. By the time the cookie bake is cooled, the cream cheese will be room temp.
• Once totally cooled, remove from the dish and crumble it all into a medium mixing bowl.

• Add the cream cheese and mix with a fork until everything is blended together.  It'll seem like its not blending at first.. keep going, it will work.  Taste test... omg I'm in heaven.

• Now roll balls a little smaller than a golf ball and put in the fridge for about an hour.  I was able to get around 35 balls from the mix.

• When the balls are chilled, remove from the fridge and then melt the white chocolate per instructions on the package.
• Slowly dip each ball into the chocolate and coat the entire thing. A couple of toothpicks will help get the job done and are useful for getting them out of the chocolate.
• Set on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and immediately top with sprinkles. The chocolate will set fairly quickly so you'll want to sprinkle right away
• Place in the fridge until you're ready to eat them. 

NOTE: These are very sweet. I'd recommend not popping a whole one in your mouth and to have some milk or other drink handy. If you're anything like me, one will be plenty. If you are like the rest of my family, you'll be popping several in a sitting.

I also made a couple pink ones for my friend Wendy. I call these ones Pink Lemonade Truffles. ;)

Bacon and Corn Griddle Cakes

(Adapted from Recipe Girl)
Holy sweet bacon.  I stumbled upon this amazing recipe that is hands down my new favorite way of eating pancakes.  I'm really not much of a pancake fan (I prefer waffles) but I am now totally and completely sold on pancakes and I don't know that I could eat pancakes any other way after this.
These pancakes are filled with bacon and cheese and corn and are pure heaven. I even ate the leftovers cold as a snack and they were still awesome.


My first batch was a semi fail in that the batter was too runny.  The results were fine and edible, just thinner than I would have liked.  I also didn't follow the original recipe which was to make it from scratch, but rather I opted to use a box of pancake mix.  With my 2nd batch, I added an extra 1/2 cup or so of pancake mix which thickened it up perfectly.


Ingredients:
12 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion
4 stalks of scallions, sliced/chopped
Pancake mix - use the waffle directions (egg, oil, water)
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 cup frozen, canned or fresh corn
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Pepper
Maple syrup, for serving


Directions:

• I used thick center cut bacon. Cut them into 1/2 inch pieces and cook them over medium head until they start to brown.  Throw in the onion and scallions and continue to cook until the bacon is crispy and the onions and scallions are soft.  

• See the picture up at the top? Scoop out that much bacon and some of the onion/scallion mix - this is going to be your topping later, so set it aside. In fact, if you're going to make several stacks, scoop out enough so that everyone has some topping, and of course up the amount of bacon if 12 isn't enough.  The original recipe called for 8 slices. I upped this because 8 wasn't enough for me. I started with 8 and after pulling out the reserve bacon topping, I felt what was left wasn't enough for the batter, so I cooked up some more. 

• While the bacon and onions are cooking, mix up your pancake mix in a medium bowl.  Remember to use the waffle method, which calls for water, oil, and an egg. I used Hungry Jack Complete Extra Light & Fluffy Pancake & Waffle Mix:  2 1/2 cups of mix, 1 1/4 cups of water, 1/4 cup of oil and 1 egg.

• Stir in the rest of the bacon mixture, corn, and cheese. Your mixture should be thick. If not, add more pancake mix. If you'd prefer them thinner, add a little milk.

• Heat the skillet and spray a little nonstick spray in the pan. Pour about 1/4 of a cup of the batter onto the pan and cook until its golden brown. Flip and repeat on the other side.  Repeat with the remaining batter.

• Serve stacks with the reserve bacon/onion mix and some maple syrup to top it off.

Homemade Lollipops

 

The main thing about this here is that its fun. If you want quality looking lollipops, you may want to go to the store, or perhaps you're a fancy superstar in the kitchen, unlike me.  But if you want fun and you want to entertain the kids or yourself, homemade lollipops kill at least 30 mins - 1hour and everyone walks away happy.  


What You Will  Need:
Jolly Ranchers or any hard candy - 1 bag.
Lollipop Sticks - I got mine at Michaels (don't get the plastic ones, they'll melt!)
Sprinkles - if you want...
Nonstick Spray
Parchment Paper
Aluminum Foil
Baking Sheet


What You Do:
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.


Line the baking sheet with aluminum foil and then the parchment paper. Spray lightly with some nonstick spray and set aside.


Separate your candy colors and then you can go a few ways with this. Smash them, or don't smash them.  Or both. If you plan on smashing them, place the color set in a ziplock baggie and smash on a hard surface like a cutting board.

Now you can start making your patterns. You'll want to do this directly on the parchment paper.  You can use cookie cutters as your pattern makers, but I found this useless. The shapes didn't really stay put once the candy melted. 

Here are some of our smashed and unsmashed.

(click for a closeup)

Place your creations a bit apart so they have room to spread while they melt. You don't want them melting into each other.  


Put in the oven for approximately 7 mins or so. Keep an eye on them, you don't want to let them go too long.

Remove and immediately put your lollipop stick in. You'll want to kind of roll it once to coat it. 


Let them sit for a few so that the candy hardens.
While this is happening, you can add sprinkles even other candies if you'd like. 

Here are some of our creations!
(clearly I can't take a picture worth jack, but you get the idea)

                

Chocolate Chili Popcorn

Not a single picture I attempted to take of this recipe came close to showing just how awesome it actually tasted.  I promise you, if you like popcorn, chocolate and anything spicy, you will love this.

I'm not even that huge a fan of chocolate, minus the occasional craving or two, but I could not stop eating this - the combo was so absolutely delicious I want to make some more right now!!

What You'll Need:

Popcorn 

Chocolate

Sugar

Hot Sauce - your choice. I did some Bhut Jolokia and some crushed home grown Thai chili peppers.

Your Directions To Greatness:

 So initially, I opted to go with a bag of microwave popcorn. Either my microwave sucks, or the entire box of popcorn is bunk because I wasn't getting a full bag of popped popcorn. By the third bag in, I gave up and threw the kernels in a pot with some olive oil and was totally entertained watching it pop. I know this may be weird, but I have never popped popcorn this way. Ever. Pretty damn cool. 

While your popcorn is popping, you can begin working on the next step.  How much sugar, chili and chocolate you  use is up to you. For the chocolate, I used Wiltons Chocolate Candy Melts, about 1/2 the bag. You can use any chocolate really, like the little chocolate chips you bake in cookies.  Melt in the microwave at 30 second intervals and don't forget to stir. 

Mix your sugar and chili together until completely blended. Taste it... not spicy enough, add more. Too spicy, then you're SOL... I suppose add more sugar. I actually ended up adding far more (the Bhut Jolokia) than what I have shown in the image above (crushed Thai peppers).

By now your microwave should be calling you. Your chocolate is ready.  Pour it over the popcorn, mix well and then add the sugar/chili mix.

Here's what you get. A couple bites in, you should be able to taste the spice. If you don't, you're doing it wrong.

Enjoy!

Pork Belly Buns

Holy goodness in a palm sized sandwich.  This recipe here takes a handful of my favorite things and slaps it all together into a three (sometimes two) bite devour.  I love pork belly (think bacon) and Vietnamese Thit Kho/Thit Ba Roi, I love steamed buns (think Banh Bao), I love Hoisin sauce, and I love crunchy cucumbers and carrots.


To make this as quick and simple as possible so that I wouldn't have to wait hours to eat it, I grabbed a pack of pre-made buns from the Korean grocery store. Pop those babies in the microwave for 45 seconds and you've got steamed buns.  The longest process, if that, was cooking the meat, which then I had to refrain from eating all of. It was that good and reminded me of moms cooking.  Assembly took a few moments, eating took less. I never made it to the dining table and my five year old, who I usually have to coax to eat, gobbled three of them - which to me means mega success all around.


What You'll Need:
2 pounds of Pork Belly (skinless/boneless) - you can buy it
   pre sliced to size, or cut it yourself into 1/2 " pieces.
3 tbs Sugar 
2 tbs Fish Sauce
1/2 cup of Warm Water
Fine Black Pepper
1/2 Onion - chopped
2 Thai Chilis - chopped
1 Cucumber - sliced
1 Carrot - shredded
Hoisin Sauce
Pre-made Lotus Leaf Steamed Buns (you can make them yourself.. but that borders on too fancy for me).

Directions:
Put the pork belly in a large frying pan and cook over medium/high heat.  I do not use oil because the meat will provide plenty for you. 


Once the meat starts to cook, add the onions (minced garlic too if you want) and give it a few stirs here and then add the sugar and fish sauce.  


When the sugar has dissolved, stir again to coat the meat and then do not stir the meat for awhile to let it caramelize. About 6 mins or so.  


Once this happens, you can add 1/2 cup of water and stir.  At this point turn down the heat to medium and let it simmer. Stir occasionally. 

While the meat is simmering, cut the cucumber slices, and shred the carrots.

Steam the buns in the microwave, approx 45 seconds under a wet paper towel.  You can also use a steamer - instructions are on the package. And yes, I did steal two and eat them.

By now the meat should look like this and you'll want to add some green onions and red chilis to it along with the black pepper. Stir it well.


You could stop at this point and just eat this with rice, and depending on how many buns you end up eating, you may have leftovers to do just that.

Yum yum yum, now its time to assemble and eat!
Squirt a little hoisin sauce on the bottom bun and place a few shreds of carrot over it. Next place a piece of meat followed by a cucumber slice. Thats it!  And awesome little flavorful Bao.