Since I make (and blog about) so much food for my hubby, I thought it was time for me to make something special for the other man in my life --- Wendell! Wendell is our 2 year old pug and he is the other love of my life. My husband is aware of this, although not so happy about it. Until we have our own babies, Wendell is my baby. Since he is a pug and puggies get easily overheated in the summer, I whipped up some homemade Frosty Paws Treats to help cool him off. These froze just in time for a weekend sleep over with Gizmo, Wendell's best friend forever. Wendell and Giz really liked these treats. With banana, honey, peanut butter, and yogurt they sound like a pretty darn good snack for humans too!
Frosty Paws Treats
From Bmd4me on Tasty Kitchen
Printable Version
Ingredients
32 ounces of plain yogurt
1 whole ripe banana
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon peanut butter
Directions
Lightly spray 2 cupcake tins with vegetable spray. Put all the ingredients into the food processor. Whiz it around until smooth. Divide evenly between 24 cupcake molds.
Freeze until solid. Pop out of cupcake tins and put into plastic freezer bags until ready for the doggies.
I think Nutella's name should be changed to "heaven in a jar". I first tasted Nutella while I was in Italy on a Mission Trip. I saw the teenagers I was working with eating Nutella on slabs of bread spread and when I inquired what it was, I got my first bite of it. Holy Moly, it was heavenly. I am not a huge huge huge chocolate fan, so to me, Nutella is the perfect blend of chocolate, creaminess, and nuttiness. I go in Nutella streaks, where I buy a jar and eat it just about every day. When I saw this recipe for Nutella Pinwheel Cookies on one of my favorite blogs, A Busy Nest, I bookmarked it and made it when my friend Amy and her husband Aaron came to visit. Amy loves desserts and cookies so I hoped she would like these cookies and she did. Don't tell her that I told you, but I think she even ate a couple before breakfast. :)
For those of you Moms who have school aged children or for fellow teachers like me who are back to school, these would be a great after school treat. They truly melt in your mouth.
Nutella Pinwheel Cookies
From A Busy Nest
(Makes 2 dozen cookies)
Printable Version
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup Nutella
1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
Directions
In a medium bowl mix together the flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar and then beat in the egg and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients slowly until combined.
Place dough between two sheets of waxed paper and roll out into a rectangle. Remove the top sheet of paper and spread the dough with Nutella. Sprinkle with hazelnuts. Place in the fridge and chill for at least 2 hours, or until ready to bake. Preheat oven to 375.
Cut dough into 1/4 inch slices and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown lightly. Cool on a wire rack.
This recipe was inspired by another one of my favorite food blogs, The Comfort of Cooking. Head over there and check out some of Georgia's incredibly yummy looking recipes. I guarantee your mouth will be watering!
Being a Midwestern girl, I love me some potatoes! Simply put, these parmesan potato wedges make me happy. They are so easy, so flavorful, so crispy and tender. The perfect side dish. I served them with BBQ chicken sandwiches. It was a pretty tasty little meal!
Parmesan Potato Wedges
Modified from The Comfort of Cooking
Printable Version
Ingredients
4 to 5 potatoes, washed (Georgia used red, I used golden)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl combine oil, garlic and spices, including salt and pepper. Whisk together.
Cut potatoes into wedges and place potatoes into bowl. Using your hands, make sure the potatoes are covered in the oil and spice mixture. Place on baking sheet and bake 25 minutes.
Check on potatoes after about ten minutes and rotate them with a spatula. After removing from the oven, sprinkle the fresh Parmesan over the potatoes. Georgia recommends laying the potatoes on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil, but mine weren't that oily. Add additional salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
Watermelon is such a classic summer fruit. I bought the watermelon for these martinis from a farmer's roadside stand- fresh fruit directly from the farms are really the best way to go in my opinion. I wish I would have bought a Sugar Baby Watermelon because they were at the stand and BunnyCooks recommends using the sweetest watermelon you can find. These drinks are refreshing and fun, perfect for Labor Day weekend!
Watermelon Martini
From BunnyCooks
(serves 2 -3)
Printable Version
Ingredients
1 cup of strained sweet, fresh, watermelon juice
1/2 cup Vodka
Squeeze of fresh lime juice
Sugar to rim the glasses
Watermelon slices for garnish
Directions
Dip the rims of the martini glasses in a little water and then immediately dip into sugar. Set aside. Quickly mix ice with the watermelon juice, vodka, and fresh lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Only shake two or three times or else it will become very watery. Pour into the sugar rimmed glasses. Garnish with watermelon slices.
After making my first flan (Spanish Flan with Blueberries) a couple of weeks ago, and realizing how incredibly easy and delicious flans are, I had been wanting to make another one. I decided to try out Paula Deen's Coconut Flan when my Mom, Aunt Chris, and cousin Lindsey came to visit. They all have huge sweet tooth like me and my Mom and Aunt Chris really love coconut so I knew this recipe would be a hit with them.
I was disappointed that this flan didn't set up as well as my first flan did. I even cooked it about 10 minutes longer than the recipe called for and it was still very runny. Regardless of the loose texture, the flavor was still incredibly creamy and coconuty (there I go making up another word again). Lots of people rave about this recipe on Food Network.com so even though mine wasn't the flan perfection I was hoping for, it's still a great recipe and I am still very much hooked on flan.
Coconut Flan
From Paula Deen
Printable Version
Ingredients
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut flakes
Whipped cream, for garnish
1/4 cup coconut flakes, for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the sugar until it caramelizes. Pour it into a flan dish, pie plate, or round souffle baking dish with shallow sides, swirling it around to coat the bottom.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until foamy with a wire whisk. Beat in the condensed milk, vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup coconut. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. It will need to bake in a water-bath in the oven. Set the dish into a large baking pan with sides and carefully pour water around the flan to come 2/3 the way up the sides. Carefully transfer to the preheated oven. Bake for about 1 hour, until the flan is set and the center only jiggles a little bit, like a cheesecake would. Remove from the oven and water-bath and allow to cool completely. Turn the flan out onto a flat serving platter. Cut into slices for serving. Garnish with whipped cream and toasted coconut.
