Zannie's Black-Eyed Pea Dip

Trying desperately to stay a smidgen true to my southern roots and eat black-eyed peas for New Year's Day, I bought a can of them and intended to serve them plain (or drizzled with ketchup, which believe it or not, is really good).  Then I saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman Cooks and realized that I had all the necessary ingredients and by golly, it sounded a lot tastier than plain black-eyed peas. 

Oh, it was.  Grant was a bit skeptical, I think, but he and I really enjoyed this dip.  So did my sister and her boyfriend, who got to help eat the leftovers a few days later. 

I had lots of bean dips, but never one with black-eyed peas.  While I'm sure that this one would be tasty with pinto beans or black beans, I thought the flavor of the black-eyed peas was really unique and delicious. 

Recipe:

1 (14-15 oz) can black-eyed peas

1/4 of an onion, chopped fine

1/4 c. sour cream

8 slices jarred jalepenos

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

3 T. salsa

Hot sauce, to taste

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350°.

Drain black-eyed peas and partially mash, leaving some whole.

Add all the other ingredients and stir to combine.

Spread into a 1-1/2 qt. baking dish (I used a 9" square pan) and bake for 20-30 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Note: If you have them available, you can use canned black-eyed peas with jalepenos.  Then you can omit the extra jalepenos.  I've never seen them here. 

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping

Oh Yum yum yum.  This is a great cheesecake bar, let me tell you.  And the caramel sauce.....just divine. 

I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of this luscious dessert.  It's got it all....buttery crust, creamy cheesecake, chewy sweet crumb topping, and, like I said before, the caramel sauce just takes it over the top.  (If you have any leftovers, it's delicious on ice cream!)

I tried to make it a wee bit lighter in fat by reducing the butter by a few Tablespoons here and there....I'm sure it didn't affect the taste at all, and every little effort to be healthier counts, right?  Right?

I think it would be incredible with a graham cracker crust as well, maybe one spiked with cinnamons and some finely chopped pecans.  That would reduce the fat even further, because graham cracker crusts don't use as much butter as this shortbread did.  So maybe I'll try that out sometime.


Recipe:  from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Base:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick + 5 T. butter, softened  (Original recipe calls for 2 sticks)

Cream Cheese Layer:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Apples:
2 Large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping:
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
6 T butter, softened (Original recipe calls for 1 stick or 1/2 cup)

1 cup caramel sauce (homemade recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, two tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients and mix until crumbly. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but combined. Press evenly into a 9X13-inch baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Then add eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Mix well. Pour over the warm crust.

Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes until the filling is set.

Cool the bars to room temperature. Drizzle with the caramel topping (or plate individual slices and drizzle with topping one by one).

Caramel Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cups half-and-half or cream
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix butter, brown sugar, half-and-half or cream, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold. If the caramel sauce has cooled in the fridge long enough to harden, warm slightly before drizzling on bars.

Chocolate Pretzels

Say "Hello" to one of the easiest treats ever.  And delicious to boot!

I was introduced to these by my neighbor Jenny, who invited us over for our kids to make these together a few days before Christmas.  The kids LOVED making them and eating them....so when my sister was visiting, she asked if we could make a batch ourselves.  So we did.  The hardest part about it is unwrapping all those hugs and kisses.  I take that back....the hardest part is keeping the kids from eating all of the hugs and kisses before they even make it onto the pretzels.  

Definitely fun and festive and a wonderful way to put those little hands in your house to work in the kitchen.  

Recipe:

Bag of small pretzels - I like Snyder's Snaps (Note:  not all will be used)
Bag of Hershey's Hugs or Kisses, unwrapped
Bag of M&Ms (not all will be used)

Preheat oven to 275°.
On an ungreased baking sheet, lay pretzels out.  They can be very close together.
Top each pretzel with an unwrapped chocolate kiss/hug.
Put in oven for 3-4 minutes, or until chocolate is softened but not completely melted.
Place an M&M on top of each chocolate piece, pressing lightly.
Refrigerate until firm if desired, or just let them sit at room temperature (which will take longer).

They don't need to be refrigerated.

Funnies from a 5-year old

We're installing some new shelves for better organization in the master closet this weekend.

I was putting together one of the shelves by myself when Marissa (5) came strolling into the room.

"Well, look at that!" she quipped in amazement.  "Mom is actually learning how to work."

Ha.  Ha.  Ha.

Thanks a lot, kid.

Another quick one.....

A few days ago while we were just hanging out, Marissa randomly breaks the silence with, "Eating a sandwich is a lot easier than cleaning a room."


We were neither eating nor cleaning, so I have no idea why she said that.  It just made me laugh.

Turkey in 2.5 hours

If you can believe it, this is the first full-sized turkey I've ever made on my own.  We're usually with family for holidays and either my mom or mother-in-law has turkey duty.  But since we were home last Christmas with no family visiting, it was my opportunity to give it a shot solo.  

I decided to go with this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, because it sounded easy and delicious, not to mention quick!  

It is a little unconventional in the cooking method; after cooking the turkey at a high temperature (500°!!) for a little while, you pull it out and put a grease tent over it.  You can use a regular brown paper grocery bag, or if you're concerned about the health hazards that have been reported, you can do as I did (following the suggestion of one of the commenter's from Mel's recipe) and staple two cut lunch bags together.  Basically you cut off the bottom of the bag(s), butter both sides of the paper and create a tent over the turkey that is open on both ends.  Like so. 

Then you lower the oven temp to 400° and cook for 2 hours.  My turkey was just under 15 lbs and I think I could have taken it out about 15 minutes earlier, but it ended up just fine.  Delicious, actually.  

I loved the flavor, the juiciness, the smells, everything about it.  Just wonderful!  

My only issue was not being able to make gravy from the drippings because they were a burnt mess on the bottom of my pan....but that happens every time we use this pan for a turkey, so I think it must be an issue with my pan.  Any ideas, veteran turkey makers? 

I can hardly wait for an occasion to make this one again.  

Recipe: (from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Printable Version

1 14-22 pound turkey
carrots, celery (cut into large chunks), onion (peeled and cut into large chunks), garlic cloves (peeled and smashed)
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
butter
brown paper bag or 2 lunch bags cut and stapled together

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and let it heat for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, remove giblets and neck and wash the turkey. Fill the cavity of the turkey with carrots, celery, garlic and onion. Combine the lemon juice, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning in a small bowl. With your hands, rub the entire turkey with the lemon juice mixture.

Place the turkey breast down (this is opposite of how a turkey is normally cooked - so just flip the turkey upside down) in a large roasting pan. Place the roasting pan in the hot oven for as many minutes as the turkey weighs (ie. 19 lb. turkey = 19 minutes). Bake for the allotted time.

Meanwhile, grease a large brown paper bag with butter on both sides. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and carefully (because the turkey and roasting pan are HOT) make a tent out of the paper bag and drape it over the turkey, taking care to tuck the sides of the bag into the roasting pan (otherwise, the butter will drip off the bag, leap onto the oven burner and possibly create a large fire.) Turn the oven down to 400 degrees and cook the turkey for two hours.

Remove the roasting pan and turkey from the oven and let turkey sit for 20 minutes. Remove turkey from the roasting pan and pour the drippings into a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil. Make a slurry from flour and water (to the consistency of thick, heavy cream) and add to the drippings until desired consistency is reached.

Chicken Enchilada Roll-Ups

I've been MIA for the past week due to a lovely visit from my younger sister and her boyfriend.  I haven't seen her in a year (and this is our first time meeting him) so blogging hasn't exactly been on my top priority list.  Today is their last day here....but I thought I'd jump on and share this delightful recipe that I tried out over the holidays.  (I'll be sharing a few photos of their visit soon.)

Chicken Enchilada Roll-ups are a great party food, no doubt about it.  They're perfect for making the day before, since they're supposed to be served chilled.  Can I just say that when I'm entertaining, it makes life SO much easier if I can make several things the day(s) before?  Those recipes that have to be completed at the last minute so stress me out.   

These are also just plain delicious.  Not too spicy, but definitely have lots of flavor and a little kick.  I enjoyed the leftovers as snacks or lunch for a couple of days.

Recipe: (from Annie's Eats)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, pepper jack, etc.)
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
Salt, to taste
Handful of cilantro, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
10 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained well
6-8 soft taco sized tortillas

Directions:
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Cook in a skillet over medium-high heat until lightly browned and cooked through.  Transfer to a plate and let cool.

In the meantime, combine all of the remaining ingredients except tortillas in a large mixing bowl.  Mix until well blended.  Once the chicken is cool, transfer to a cutting board and chop or shred into small pieces.  Add the chicken to the filling mixture and stir well to incorporate.

Spread a thin layer of the filling mixture over a tortilla, leaving a small border clear around the edge.  Roll the tortilla up tightly into a spiral.  Place the rolled up tortilla on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut into 1- to 1½-inch thick segments.  Transfer to a serving platter and serve chilled or at room temperature.

This post is linked to Picnic Recipes: a 4-Moms Link up

Raspberry Chocolate Cake

This is simply a remarkable cake.  An exquisite cake.  A cake Grant labeled as "Quite possibly the best chocolate cake I've ever had".  I should have garnished it with fresh raspberries, but it was Christmas....not many quality fresh raspberries in Virginia.

  

The raspberry complements the chocolate perfectly....not too strong, not too weak....and the filling is just wonderful.  I had my doubts about it....I had never made a milk-flour based frosting and just had no idea what it would be like.  I was so delighted with the end product.  Just trust me, it's fabulous.  And the frosting is too. 

I didn't use red food coloring in the filling because I try to avoid food coloring unless I'm making birthday cakes....but you're welcome to use it to make it "look" more raspberry-ish. 

I had to send Grant to a liqueur store to get the raspberry liqueur - I couldn't find it at the grocery store.  I don't know if raspberry extract would be a suitable substitute or not....but I couldn't find any of that either.   

Recipe (from Taste of Home Feb/Mar 2009)

Cake:

3 cups sugar

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup baking cocoa

2 t. baking soda

1-1/2 t. salt

3/4 t. baking powder

1-1/4 cups buttermilk

3/4 cup canola oil 

1 T. vanilla extract

3 eggs

1-1/2 cups strong brewed coffee, room temperature

Filling:

3 T. all-purpose flour

6 T. milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

2 T. raspberry liqueur

1/4 t. salt

2 drops red food coloring (optional - I did not use)

4 T. seedless raspberry jam, melted

Frosting:

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup butter, softened

½ c. baking cocoa

1 T. raspberry liqueur

4 cups powdered sugar

Line three greased 9-inch round baking pans with waxed paper and grease paper; set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients.  Combine the buttermilk, oil and vanilla; add to the dry ingredients.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; beat for 2 minutes.  Gradually add coffee (batter will be thin).

Pour batter into prepared pans.  Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely; discard waxed paper.

Level tops of cakes if necessary.  Place one layer on a serving plate; spread with about 2 T. jam.  Place remaining layers on waxed paper; spread one of the remaining layers with remaining jam.  Let stand for 30 minutes.

For filling, in a small saucepan, whisk together flour and milk until smooth.  Cook over medium heat for 2-4 minutes, or until thickened, stirring constantly.  Remove from the heat and let stand until cool.  In a large bowl, cream butter.  Gradually add powdered sugar; mix well.  Gradually add cooled milk mixture; beat for 4 minutes or until light and fluffy.  Beat in liqueur, salt and food coloring if desired.

Spread ½ of filling over cake on the plate to within ¼ inch of edges. Top with jam covered cake, then spread with remaining filling.  Top with remaining cake layer. 

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add cocoa and liqueur; mix well.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  Frost top and sides of cake.  Store in refrigerator. 

Note: Cake cuts best when cold, but tastes best when it has been out for at least 30 minutes.

Note 2: I made the cakes a day ahead and then made the filling and frosting and assembled it the next day.  Worked great.