white mac and cheese

Hey my lovelies!

Apparently we've experienced a cold snap with the weather here in Chicago. What better way to warm up the house than with home made macaroni and cheese? This time around I only used white cheeses and made it extra cheezy. The white cheddar definitely gives it a kick. Hope you like it :)

Cheezy White Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 cups of cooked desired pasta  (if you don't like your macaroni n cheese super creamy and oh so cheezy, add another cup of pasta)
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 cups of white cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup of munster cheese, shredded
• 1 cup of colby cheese, shredded (or colby jack)
• 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce ( this isn't really needed, but I really like the bite that the sauce gives)
• 1/2 to 1 full cup of bread crumbs 

Directions

1. Preheat oven 375
2. In a sauce pan over low heat, melt butter
3. Stir in salt and pepper.
4. Stir in milk then gently sift flour.
5. Put heat to low flame. Mix in cheeses.
6. Add Worcestershire sauce and stir.
7. Take of heat.
8. Slowly add the pasta into the cheese sauce. Stir gently.
9. Pour macaroni and cheese into a baking dish then place it  in the preheated oven and bake for 25 mins.
10. Take out the mac n cheese. Sprinkle bread crumbs evenly over the dish and then place mac n cheese back in oven and bake for another 5 to 10 mins.
11. Take out of oven and let stand for 10 mins before serving. 

Stay hungry my friends!

Erin go Bragh!

Hello my hungry family!

Tis the season of St Patrick's Day. I came across this lovely cupcake recipe that fits just perfectly. What kind of St Patty's Day would it be without the Guiness or Bailey's??

Guiness Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting

 * I got the cupcake recipe from Big City, Little Kitchen  and tweaked it a little. This is my usual go-to frosting recipe. I just added the Baileys to it.

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 cup Guinness beer
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tb vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Frosting

• 1/4 cup of unsalted butter, softened
• 4 oz of cream cheese, softened
• 4 - 6 cups of confectioners sugar
• 1/4 of plain coffee creamer 
• 4 tbs of Bailey's Irish Cream

* If you don't want to use alcohol, use an Irish Cream flavored coffee creamer. Works just as good :)

Directions

Cupakes

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
2. Combine the Guinness and the butter in a large sauce pan Remove from heat 
3. Whisk in the cocoa and sugar. 
4. In a bowl, whisk the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla, then add to the beer mixture. 
5. Sift together the flour and baking soda, and fold into the batter. 
6. Pour into muffin molds and bake for 25 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, remove from cupcake tin, and cool completely on a rack.

Frosting

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until fluffy.
2. Add the coffee creamer and Bailey's until fully incorporated.
3. Slowly add confectioners sugar into the bowl, 1/2 cup at a time, and beat well after each addition. 
4. Continue to add the sugar until you have a thick frosting of your preferred consistency (I'm happy with 4 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar)
5. Spread evenly on cooled cupcakes.

Bailey's Irish Cream Cake with Glaze

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 pkg yellow cake mix 
• 1  3oz. pkg  instant vanilla pudding 
• 4 eggs 
• 1/2 cup cold water 
• 1/2 cup oil 
• 1/2 cup Bailey's Irish Cream 

Glaze

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar 
• 1 tablespoon Bailey's Irish Cream
• 2 to 3 teaspoons milk

Directions


Cake

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour bundt cake pan.
2.   In a large bowl add the cake mix and pudding mix. Beat in the eggs, water, and oil. Mix well.
3.  Stir in the Bailey's slowly. Mix evenly. 
4. Bake 1 hour. 
5. Once out of the oven cool cake completely.

Glaze

1. In a small bowl, mix the confectioners sugar, Bailey's, and milk until smooth. 
2. Spoon evenly over cooled cake. Let stand until glaze is set.

HAPPY EATING!!!

"May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand." - Old Irish Blessing

Recipe try-outs

Hello my hungry friends!

Sorry for the very late post on here. I've been working on a lot of different projects and haven't had the chance to add anything. But here I am ready to post more yumminess!

The Bake Sale Delivery for Vince was a huge success! Thank you all who purchased cookies. The most requested cookie was peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly, and dulce de leche. With all the cookies that I've baked last week I had to take a small break from it all. Now I'm back on to wanting to try something new. Here is a recipe that I've been dying to try out and tinker around with. Check them out!

HORCHATA COOKIES

* - I saw this recipe somewhere online. Can't seem to find it now, but I'm happy that I was able to write it down. It's got this sprinkling of cinnamon sugar over the actual cookie along a yummy creamy horchata frosting. I'm super excited to try this and I hope you are too!


Ingredients:

Cookie:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup of flour
• 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1/4 tsp of salt 
• A mixture of cinnamon and sugar

Frosting

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Horchata
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 - 6 cups confectioners sugar

Directions:


Cookie

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Cream together sugar and butter. Beat in egg and vanilla.
3. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. 
4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Blend well. 
5. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or until dough is firm enough to roll into balls. 
6. Shape dough into small balls about a 1/2in. Roll in cinnamon sugar to coat. 
7. Set cookies 1 inch apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. 
8. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. 
9. Cool slightly on pans, then remove to racks to cool completely. 

Frosting

1. In a large bowl, mix together the horchata, butter, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. 
2. Slowly add the confectioners sugar 1/2 cup at a time and mix well with each added cup. (I personally like the frosting consistency of 3 cups of confectioners sugar)
3. Spread over each cookie evenly and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

STAY HUNGRY MY FRIENDS :)

MOVEMBER Bake Sale Delivery!

Hello my lovelies!

My awesome boyfriend Vince is participating in MOVEMBER in November. Movember is an organization that is raising awareness for men's cancers, Prostate Cancer and Testicular Cancer.

What he did was shave off his beloved mustache and goatee that he's been growing for a very long time and will re-grow one for the month of November. In addition, he is also raising money for the cause.

As the awesome girlfriend that I am, I feel the need to help him by throw a fundraiser, such as a Bake Sale! The problem with that is that I don't have a place to actually host a bake sale in such short notice. That's why I created Bake Sale Delivery :) I posted an invite on the Events page of Facebook and put down a list of cookies, cupcakes, and brownies along with the prices. To my surprise it's getting a huge turn out. Pretty much all the cookies on the menu I've posted on here. These are just a couple of goodies that I haven't yet.
Here's one of them!


Chewy Oatmeal Cookies 

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, well beaten
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 3 cups rolled oats, not instant
• 1 cup raisins (optional)
  
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two large cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Then add vanilla.
3. In a medium bowl mix flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. 
4. Stir dry ingredients into butter-sugar mixture a cup at a time. If you choose to add raisins and/or nuts, stir these in now. Stir in oats.
5. Roll out 1 inch balls of dough onto prepared cookie sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie.
6. Bake until cookie edges turn golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies stay on the cookie sheet a few minutes longer to let them "cook" a little longer.
7. Move the cookies carefully to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 5 to 10 mins.

Stay hungry, my friends :)

honey soy salmon

Hello my lovelies!

I'm currently house/pet sitting for a friend of mine while he travels the world in 4 weeks. I'm lucky that he lives really close by the a grocery store, but when you're lazy and not wanting to go anywhere you have to make the most of things. I came across this recipe for honey glazed salmon. It wasn't very tasty for some reason. I thought it to be too sweet. This time around I decided to play it up with some soy sauce. It came out pretty delish! Try it out and let me know what you guys think. If you have any suggestions on how to make this dish better, please let me know!

Honey Soy Salmon


Ingredients:

• 1/2 to 1 cup soy sauce
• 2 filet salmon
• 4 tbs of butter
• 4 tbs of honey

Directions:

1. Pour soy sauce into a resealable bag or container. Submerge the salmon into the soy sauce. Let the salmon marinate in the soy sauce for an hour. If the salmon isn't completely submerged, either add more soy sauce or just flip the filets over after a half hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a pan over low heat, melt the butter. 
4. When the butter is melted take off the heat. Spoon in the honey. (If you want to make this a little more sweeter, add a couple more tbs of honey.) Stir well.
5. Take the filets out of the marinade and gently place them in to the pan of the honey mixture. Coat both sides of the filets well. 
6. Place the filets into a baking dish. Spoon the leftover honey mixture over the salmon.   
7. Put salmon into the oven and bake for 15 mins. 
8. Serve warm with a side of rice or cous cous. 

Bon appetit!

Farmers Market food

Hello my lovelies!

Summertime has come and gone and I never got a chance to post these recipes in time. The one thing that I absolutely love about summer and occasionally the autumn seasons are farmers markets. I absolutely love them! You definitely can tell the difference between fresh vegetables and fruits coming from a farmers market and the grocery store. Here are a few of my favorite recipes. Enjoy!

Sweet and Salty Marinated Asparagus

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs fresh asparagus, about 44 to 50 spears if you get them medium sized
• 1/2 cup of low sodium soy sauce
• 1/3 cup of rice vinegar
• 3 tbs of olive oil
• 2 tbs of fresh ginger
• 1-2 tbs of honey
• 1 tbs of minced garlic
• 1 tbs of sesame seeds
• pinch of cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add asparagus and cook for 5 mins. Drain immediately put the asparagus into a bowl of ice water.
2. In a medium size bowl whisk soy sauce, rice vinegar, oil, ginger, garlic, honey, and cayenne. 
3. Take out asparagus from the ice water and place in a large baking dish. Spread out the asparagus in the dish. 
4. Pour soy sauce mixture over the asparagus evenly.  (The amount of sauce should submerge the asparagus in the baking dish. If it doesn't, add a little water.)
5. Cover baking dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at 3 to 4 hours. 
6. In a small pan on low heat toast sesame seeds for 2 mins. 
7. Take out the asparagus from the refrigerator. Drain off the marinade from the asparagus. Save the sauce.
8. Place the asparagus on a serving plate. Add a few spoonfuls of the sauce over the asparagus. Sprinkle the sesame seeds before serving. 

Tomato Basil Farfalle

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of lime juice
• 3 tbs of olive oil
• 1 tbs of grated lime zest
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• 2 lbs of cherry/plum tomatoes, sliced in half or cubed
• 1 cup of chopped basil leaves
• 1 box of farfalle pasta

Directions:

1. Put a large pot of water to boil on medium heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the packaging directions. Drain and set aside. Sprinkle some olive oil over pasta so it doesn't stick.
2. In a medium bowl, combine lime juice and zest, oil, and cumin. Whisk gently. 
3. In the lime juice mixture add tomatoes and basil. Gently stir. 
4. Add the pasta with the tomato mixture and toss gently.

* this recipe is great if you add grilled chicken!



 Tangy Fresh Veggies

Ingredients:

Marinade

• 1 cup of olive oil
• 1 cup of red wine vinegar
• 2 tbs of dried basil
• 2 tbs of dried oregano
• 2 tbs of dried pasley

Vegetables

• 1 cup of brocoli florets
• 1 cup of cauliflower florets
• 1 cup of baby carrots
• 1 cup of button mushrooms, quartered

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine oil, vinegar, and spices. Whisk gently. 
2. Add brocoli, cauliflower, carrots, and mushrooms. Stir gently til all vegetables are fully coated.
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hrs. 
4. Take vegetables out of refrigerator and serve cold. 

* this recipe can also be added into stir fry :)

Bon appetit!

yummy delicious and refreshing 'ades

Hello loverlies!

It's been a crazy hot and humid summer in Chicago! I know I posted sangria recipes last time, but sometimes you just don't want wine. Sometimes you just want to bring something to sip on at work or on the go. Lemonades and limeades have been key beverages my summer. Here are a couple of my favorite recipes for that. Enjoy!
 .
This recipe was inspired by the lavender lemonade that I always get at Julius Meinl. The syrup that they use does not have that flowery soap like taste at all. It's so yummy that I had to try to make it myself.

Lavender Lemonade

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of cold water
• 1 cup of fresh lemon juice (usually this takes 5 lemons, depending on size)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 tbs of dried lavender buds
• ice as desired

Directions:

1. In a medium pot, combine 1 cup of the water, sugar, and lavender on medium heat. Bring to a boil while stirring, or at least til the sugar has dissolved. Take off heat.
2. Stir in lemon juice. Let it stand for 10 mins.
3. In a pitcher, add the rest of the water. 
4. Carefully strain the lemonade mixture into the pitcher of water. Stir.
5. Place in refrigerator before serving. If you can't wait (cuz I usually can't) add ice as desired.

The one thing that I always look forward to is Farmers Markets that are all over the city. I've been in this cherry kick for awhile now. I had to incorporate this with a limeade! After a few tries I finally perfected the recipe!
 
Very-Cherry Limeade

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of cold water
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 to 1 1/2 lbs of cherries, pitted
• 1 cup of fresh lime juice (this took about 12 - 14 limes)
• ice as desired

Directions:

1. In a medium pot, combine 2 cups of the water, sugar, cherries, and lime juice on a medium heat. 
2. While the liquid starts to heat up, gently mash the cherries to let out their essence. 
3. Bring to a boil while stirring, or until sugar has dissolved. Take of heat and let it stand til it cools. 
4. In a pitcher add the rest of the water.
5. Carefully strain limade mixture into the pitcher. Stir.
6. Place in refrigerator or add ice as desired before serving. 

BON APPETIT!


**FYI: In case you all have noticed, I strain the lemonade mixture quicker instead of letting it cool like the limeade. The reason being is because I found out the longer you let the lavender buds steep, the more perfumey it starts to taste.