Spicy Asian Slaw

 Ingredients:

I bag Cole Slaw ( 14 ounce bag)

2/3 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

5 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 low sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon sriracha sauce (or more if you prefer spicier!)

Crumbled bacon if desired

Directions:

Combine olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, soy sauce and sriracha.

Add cole slaw to a medium sized bowl.

Pour olive oil mixture over the slaw and mix well, add the sunflower seeds and toasted sesame seeds.

Refrigerate for a few hours then enjoy

Peanut Butter-Filled Brownie Cupcakes

 Ingredients:

1 package fudge brownie mix (8-inch square pan size)

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened

1 large egg

1/4 cup sugar

Confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare brownie batter according to package directions; stir in chocolate chips. For filling, in a small bowl, beat peanut butter, cream cheese, egg and sugar until smooth.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups one-third full with batter. Drop filling by teaspoonfuls into the center of each cupcake. Cover with remaining batter.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in brownie portion comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust tops with confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator.

The manager at Planet Fitness is leaving and I make this for her.

This is SO SO good!

Copykat Longhorn Steakhouse Mushroom Truffle Bisque

 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

4 ounces white button mushrooms sliced

4 ounces baby portobello mushroom sliced

1/2 cup white onion chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoon truffle oil ( I used EVOO)

Directions:

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms and chopped onion. Sprinkle mushrooms and onions with salt. Cook until the onions have become transparent and the mushrooms have released their water. Add chopped garlic, and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. In a medium sized saucepan add chicken broth, and the mushroom mixture. Heat through. Use either a stick blender, or a food processor to process soup. Process soup until the mushrooms are chopped very fine. Add heavy cream to the soup, and heat until the soup is warm. Add EVOO just before serving. 

It's not a true copycat because I didn't use the Truffle oil. I did like it and will make it again

Pineapple Upside-Down Muffins

 

Ingredients:

1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup canola oil

5 teaspoons brown sugar

5 maraschino cherries, halved

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Drain pineapple, reserving 1 tablespoon juice. Set pineapple aside.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk eggs, yogurt, oil and reserved pineapple juice. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in reserved pineapple.

Fill regular-sized cups two-thirds full. Sprinkle tops with brown sugar; top with halved cherries.

Bake 12-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Serve warm.

NOTE: One of my neighbors is moving. It's a sad day. Such a nice family. Her husband is a doctor and they closed the hospital in our area and her husband now works an hour south of us.

This Saturday in Live Oak is the Sun Coast Plant Swap. They are a lunch where people bring goodies. I'm pretty sure I'm going to make these since they came out really good.

Crockpot Chicken Stew

 

Ingredients:

2 (10 fluid ounce) cans chicken broth

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 cup white wine ( didn't use)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1.5 pounds little potatoes

1.5 pounds  chicken thighs ( skinless)

1 large onion chopped

1 pound baby cut carrots

7 ounces pearl button mushrooms

Salt & pepper to taste

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:

Add the liquid ingredients (chicken broth, olive oil, white wine, and Worcestershire sauce) to slow cooker. 

Add the remaining ingredients (except for cornstarch and salt & pepper). Mix well. Place chicken on top and sprinkle with garlic powder and Italian seasoning .

Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat. About an hour before it's done you can take the bone out of thighs with tongs and shred the chicken in the pot. I added some chicken bullion to the crockpot and stirred it in thoroughly.  Add the cornstarch ( mixed with cold broth) about 15-30 minutes prior to serving. I also put up the heat to high so it would thicken up nicely. Add salt & pepper, to taste. Serve immediately.

Note:

If you prefer using chicken breasts, I suggest cooking it for 6 hours on low so they don't dry out too much

Gabe said his mother and grandmother would make Chicken Fricassee, this is not a fricassee.  The real difference between the chicken fricassee and stew. It's all in the way you cook the chicken, in a stew it's boiled. In a fricassee, it's smothered or pan-fried first, then boiled.

Crock Pot Brown Sugar Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds pork tenderloin

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup brown sugar

4 cloves garlic, chopped

3 fresh red chili pepper, finely chopped ( I used a few drops of hot sauce)

1/2 large onion, sliced

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

Brown tenderloins on all sides, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix together teriyaki sauce, chicken broth, and brown sugar in a bowl. Stir in garlic, hot sauce, onion, and black pepper.

Put browned tenderloins into slow cooker, cover with the teriyaki sauce mixture.

Cook on low for about 4-5 hours, turning 2 to 3 times during the cooking time to ensure even doneness.

Remove tenderloins from the slow cooker and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. If desired, spoon liquid over slices when serving.

Cauliflower, Collards and Bean Chili

 Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large red onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 large bell peppers( any color you want) chopped

3 large carrots, diced

salt

3 Tablespoons Chili Powder

1 Tablespoon cumin powder

2 Tablespoon tomato paste

1 (28 ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes

1 (   14.5  )  can collard greens- drained

2 cups chicken broth ( can also used beef or just plain water)*

2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 (15 ounce) beans - I used pinto and dark kidney beans

1/2 head cauliflower - trimmed and coarsely chopped

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, carrots and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until the carrots start softening, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin and tomato paste and cook, stirring, until deep red, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, 2 cups water, the cocoa powder, collard greens and beans with their liquid. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 1 hour 15 minutes

Stir in the grated cauliflower and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. (Add a splash of water if the chili is too thick.) Season with salt and pepper. Top as desired.

* I simmered it down, I didn't want something that resembled soup.

Trader Joe's sends me their new sale flyer every month. One of the things that I thought sounded REALLY good was Kale and Cauliflower chili. 

I haven't planted my kale yet but I have been on a cauliflower binge. I looked up recipes but the closest I found was one on food network web site. 

I adapted the recipe ( nothing new for me) and this came out SO SO good.

I took a large container to Mey, she loves veggies as much as I do. It also gives her a break so she doesn't have to cook.