Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese

Umm...these are totally spicy.  As in, too hot for Dave and me to handle (and I have a fairly high tolerance for heat!)

I'll certainly be making these again, since they were delicious, but with a lot less jalapeno :)

Ingredients:
5 jalapeno peppers (this is too many peppers. See above)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (we accidentally used salted)
3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened (we used low fat)
1/3 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 slices bread

Directions:

1. Char jalapeno skins by placing them over a low open flame, and rotating them until blackened all around.  You can also place jalapenos under the broiler and toast until blackened on all sides.  (see photos below) 
2. Remove from the flame (or oven), and allow the peppers to steam.  I placed my hot and blackened peppers in a small pot with the lid on.  You can also loosely wrap the peppers in foil.    
3. After peppers have steamed for about 10 minutes, place on a clean work surface.  Use the sharp edge of a knife to scrape the skin off the peppers.  Once clean of skin, chop and set aside. *note: It’s best to touch the peppers as little as possible, or wear plastic gloves.
4. For each sandwich, butter one side of each slice of bread.  Flip the bread so the butter is facing down.  Spread half of the cream cheese on one of the bread slices.  Sprinkle diced jalapenos atop the cream cheese.  Place half of the shredded cheese atop the jalapenos and cream cheese.  Top with remaining bread slice, butter side up. Repeat for second sandwich.
5. Grill sandwiches in a non-stick saute pan over medium heat.  Flip and cook until golden brown on each side.  Slice in half and serve immediately.

....and one more shot of the sandwich (I know- I broke every food photography "rule" in this shot- I was too close to the food, the angle was off, and there were stray crumbs left on the plate. I was just too hungry to care at the time!)

Recipe from Joy the Baker

Healthier Cinnamon Buns (in Pancake form!)

It's a pancake that satisfies the craving for a cinnamon bun. (Well, if you are in the mood for those flavors. If you are in the mood for something heavy, sugary, and buttery, this likely won't do it for ya)

I was inspired by THIS recipe, but was shocked when I saw how much butter and sugar she put in those things.  As delicious as they look, I edited a bunch of things from the original recipe to come up with my own version.

(please note- when I made this, I was home alone, so these amounts are for 3 medium sized pancakes!  In the end, they were so decadent I could only finish one and a half. If you want to make more pancakes, double or triple the amounts)

Ingredients:
CINNAMON FILLING:
1 tbs butter, melted
1 tbs coconut sugar (use any sweetener you would like)
1/2 tbs ground cinnamon

PANCAKES:
I used Aunt Jemima complete pancake mix, but you can use any pancake recipe you'd like

TOPPING:
cream cheese (I used lowfat)

Directions:

1. Prepare the cinnamon filling: In a small bowl microwave the butter until melted.  Stir in the cinnamon and coconut sugar until well combined.  Pour the filling into a zip baggie and set it aside 
2. Prepare the pancake batter (again, I used a mix so this step was easy!)
3. Cook the pancakes: Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-heat and spray with nonstick spray. Add batter to the pan, and reduce the heat to medium low. 
4. Snip the corner of your baggie of cinnamon filling and squeeze the filling into the open corner. When your pancake begins to form bubbles, add the filling in a swirl (see photo below)
5. Cook the pancake until golden brown on the bottom. Flip, and cook until the other side is golden as well.  
6. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, and repeat with the remaining pancake batter and cinnamon filling.
7. Serve with a thin coating of cream cheese

Note:  When I swirled my cinnamon filling, it was kind of drippy. The original recipe recommends waiting until it has cooled a bit so that it is thicker when you add it to the pancake.  Good idea!

Recipe adapted from Recipe Girl

Snickers Cupcake with Chocolate Mousse Filling

I might be crazy- I didn't take a picture of the inside!  It's a shame, too-it's filled with chocolate mousse!  I made these for my friend Jessica's birthday a while back- we all loved them.

Ingredients
Cake
1 box Devils Food Cake Mix
1 small box Jello Chocolate Fudge instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk (we used vanilla almond milk)
1 cup sour cream

Chocolate Mousse Filling
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups milk chocolate chips

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
1 stick softened butter
2 1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 bag mini Snickers (I think next time we will use THESE. They are less sweet, and I like that)


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake tins with liners. 
2. To prepare the cupcakes, place the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, milk and sour cream into stand mixer. Beat until well combined, about 2 minutes. 
3. Scoop the batter evenly into the cupcake liners. 
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cupcakes are cooked through and a toothpick comes clean from center. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and let cool.
5. To prepare the mousse, melt the milk chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. Set aside to cool. 
6. Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream with a stand or electric mixer until it looks like whipped cream and stiff peaks form. Fold melted chocolate chips into whipped cream until well combined, then transfer batches into a piping bag. 
7. When cupcakes have cooled, press the tip of the piping bag into the center of the cupcake, about 1 inch deep. Squeeze the mousse into the cupcake while pulling the tip out. It doesn’t take much, just one firm squeeze is perfect. Continue filling all the cupcakes.
8. To prepare the frosting, beat the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa and vanilla until well combined and a nice frosting consistency. Spread over cupcakes then top with chopped Snickers.

Makes 24 cupcakes

Recipe from Kevin and Amanda

Whipped Feta and Roasted Red Pepper Dip

A nice and simple little dip :)

Ingredients
10 oz feta
2 roasted red bell pepper, skin peeled
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic (I think I did a little less)
1 tsp Tabasco garlic red pepper sauce
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt to taste

Directions

1. Add the feta, roasted red bell pepper, olive oil, garlic, Tabasco, and red pepper flakes to a food processor. 
2. Pulse for about 60 seconds and taste. Season with salt as needed
3.  Serve with toasted pita chips or celery and enjoy!

Recipe from What's Gaby Cooking

Asian Sesame Tofu with Braised Squash and Green Beans

I am sooooo behind on the food blogging! Hopefully our recipes will end up here soon :)

Dave and I had this meal this evening....it was easy and tasty!

Ingredients
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions
2 tbsp + 3 tbsp soy sauce, divided
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbs minced garlic
3/4 tsp + 1/4 tsp ground ginger, divided
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 block extra firm tofu, pressed and sliced widthwise
 tbsp olive oil
1 squash, seeded and diced
1 lb green beans
1 bell pepper, diced

Instructions

1. Mix the honey, scallions, soy sauce, sesame seeds, garlic, onions, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl until well blended.  Place tofu on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.  Spoon honey mixture evenly over the tofu.  Reserve the extra honey mixture.
2. Bake the tofu at 375 for 20 minutes.
3. While the tofu is cooking, in a large pot or saucepan heat olive oil.  Add in the squash, green beans, bell pepper, 2 tbsp water, ground ginger (or 1 tbs minced fresh) and 3 tbsp soy sauce.  Simmer on low until squash is tender, 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently.  Pour the extra honey mixture over the squash. Toss to combine.
4. Serve the braised vegetables with the baked tofu. 

Recipe adapted from Eats Well With Others

Food Crawl 5

Yep, I'm still behind.  This food crawl is from June 30th!

That morning, Dave and I headed to Davis Square to check out Mr. Crepe.

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 We've had some bad luck with so-so crepes at places around Boston before, so we were hoping to find one that we liked.  Inside, this place was pretty cute. It was clean, with artwork on the walls.

The crepe we decided to split was AWESOME.  It was brie, apple, and grape.

It was warm and melty, and the crepe itself tasted very good.  Now, I feel like we can't completely judge Mr. Crepe yet, since we didn't try one with meat in it.  Good meat at a crepe place is sometimes hard to come by, so we'll definitely have to go back and give it another try!

There used to be a picture here of Dave, but he made me take it down :(

 This next place is not new to either of us, Dave's Fresh Pasta (also in Davis).

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The only reason why we decided to food crawl it was because I have never had their sandwiches before!   Dave has, but I have only eaten their fresh pastas and sauces. (Actually, that's a lie. I sampled a few paninis and drank wine when Leah had her bachelorette party there....)

Every time I've been there, it's been packed and totally crazy.  Today was no exception, but the service was pretty fast regardless.

 

 

We decided to split a Steak and Blue sandwich.  It's grilled flank steak, blue cheese, caramelized onions, baby arugula, and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.  Dave LOVED it, and I really liked it (my only issue is that some of the steak pieces had more fat on them than I would have wanted.  But I'm weird when it comes to that stuff.  I like very lean meat)

We were pretty stuffed at this point, because we had the crepe and sandwich back to back.

Do I look stuffed?

We went to the Public Gardens to relax and check out some ducks who were chillin' in a row:

We did other stuff that day too, but I won't bore you with the details.

On the way home, we were both craving something sweet, so we checked out the newish yogurt place in Burlington, Yeh.

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The idea was great, but neither of us were thrilled.  I think the yogurt (both my vanilla and Dave's mango) were WAY to sweet, and the little bit of chocolate I tried was gross.  It tasted kind of like a Tootsie Roll.  ew.

I have to admit though- the toppings were pretty amazing.

I had coconut, kiwi, and these little Gushers-like balls of fruit juice.

Dave had his mango yogurt and juice balls blended into a smoothie. (that sounds weird...)

The verdict on Yeh? Meh.

(although apparently they now have tart greek frozen yogurt.  That might be worth a try...)

Coconut Rum Truffles

This one has been on my blogging to-do list for a while....Dave and I made these months ago!


Ingredients:
8 oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate
just shy of 2/3 c. heavy cream
2 Tablespoons dark rum
1/4 tsp coconut extract (or more...taste it to see what you like)
1 tbs butter - optional (I don't remember if we used this or not)
unsweetened coconut flakes, to roll truffles in

Directions:

1. Chop the chocolate into fairly even, small pieces—a heavy serrated knife works well. Place in a mixing bowl
2. Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat until it begins to boil. Remove from heat, and add the cream to the chopped chocolate. For an extra smooth truffle, add butter. Add rum and extract . 
3. Once most of the chocolate and butter look melted, whisk until smooth. Quickly but gently transfer the mixture to a bowl so that you can form your emulsion in a cooler environment. (I didn't do this)
4. Whisk the mixture vigorously until it’s thick and smooth, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl and incorporating all the cream and chocolate. If you have one, an immersion blender helps make sure the emulsion is stable.
5. If the ganache shows signs of breaking at this point (if it looks curdled or oily), you can add a few drops of cream to help re-emulsify it. A well-emulsified ganache should look like chocolate pudding: thick, smooth, and glossy. Refrigerate until firm.
6. Once the ganache has set into a uniformly firm mass, scoop out small balls with a melon baller or spoon. Roll each one briefly in the palms of your very clean (or gloved) hands. It helps if you have cold hands or are in a cool room.
7. Chill the truffles briefly, for about 15 minutes, while you prepare whatever you’d like to roll or enrobe them in.
8. Roll the truffles in unsweetened coconut flakes.

Store them at room temperature for up to a week, in the fridge for two to three weeks, or in the freezer for two months. They taste best eaten at room temperature.

note: I am unsure of the source of this recipe, since I combined aspects of a few truffle recipes I found online.