Homemade Hoisin Sauce

This delicious sauce is one I use a lot in my Asian recipes. I use to buy it at the store but after reading the ingredients, I thought I'd make my own. I slightly adapted this recipe from CDKitchen. 

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1 Tbsp honey

1 tsp white vinegar

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp sesame oil (can use olive oil)

1/8 tsp black pepper

0 to 10 drops of Chinese hot sauce, habenero or jalepeno

Quick and simple. Throw it all in a bowl and stir until fully combine!

Strawberry & Spinach Salad with Homemade Poppyseed Dressing

This is a tasty salad that can be customized to your liking. It's all about the delicious poppy seed dressing. I got inspired from Lauren's Latest and made it a bit more healthy. It's light, it's great for summer and it's so delicious but you won't feel guilty!

Salad:

6-8 cups baby spinach

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1-2 cup grapes 

1/2 cup almonds (optional)

6 slices of bacon or turkey bacon (optional)

Dressing

1 cup plain Greek yogurt (for healthy Greek yogurt, read the label and make sure no sugar is added. Target brand, Simply Balanced, is what I use) OR condensed coconut milk for Paleo diet

1/4 cup white vinegar

4 Tbsp honey

1 to 1 1/2 tsp poppy seed

You won't need too many directions because it's simple. Put all the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl and toss. Put all the dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and mix well.

If you're going to have leftovers, don't mix the salad and dressing. Put the salad in individual bowls. 

Pour the dressing over the salad and enjoy without guilt!

Tomatoes Stuffed With Grilled Corn Salad

These can look pretty fancy, but they are simple to make. I love making them and the best thing, they taste delicious! I slightly adapted this recipe from Ms. Martha Stewart. And it's perfect for summer!

Serves 4

3 ears of corn OR 1 can of corn

4 beefsteak tomatoes

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup cheese (Original recipe called for goat cheese but I much prefer aged cheddar cheese or a Mexican cheese blend. You can use any cheese you want) 

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

3 slices cooked bacon or turkey bacon, crumbled (optional)

You can of course fire up your outside grill and roast the corn on the stalks. To do that, pull back husks (don't remove) and take out the silk and soak corn & husks in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain, put husks back over the corn. Place corn husks on high heat on the grill for about 15 to 20 minutes. When done, cut kernels off corn and set aside in a bowl.  

I like to cook it inside on a George Foreman grill. To do that, put on the flat panel grill plate. Pour 1 Tbsp olive oil on to the grill and turn to high heat.

I cut the corn off the stalks OR if using canned corn (which I have many times), drain the water and place the corn kernels directly on the grill plate in the oil. I sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and grill for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, wash your beefsteak tomatoes. And if using bacon, start cooking that now too.

Cut the tops off the tomatoes

Very gently, squeeze the seeds out of the tomato and discard (or eat them if you're like me).Take a small knife (paring knife works best) and cut around the inside of the tomato, remove the innards of the tomato. Give them a rough chop and throw them into a bowl.

Once the corn is done, throw it into the bowl with the tomato innards, and top with crumbled bacon, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 cup cheese (reserving just a little to top each tomato if you wish), 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar and salt & pepper.

Give it a good stir, and spoon it into your tomatoes and Voila! 

Super yummy and great for summer!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Don't waste your money on taco seasoning packets any more! This recipe is quick, simple and cheap! I usually make a big batch and just stick it in my spice cabinet so I always have it on hand. Recipe is from One Hundred Dollars A Month.

4 tsp onion powder

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

2 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp paprika 

1/2 tsp salt

Real simple directions, throw everything in a small bowl, give it a stir and season away! 

Brownie Bombs

These are called brownie bombs because once you bite into them, there is an explosion of deliciousness! Edible chocolate chip cookie dough (no eggs), wrapped in a brownie, dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with M & M's. Yes, they tasted divine and yes I may have ate one (or two...or more) but once you make them you'll understand why! So as I've stated before, I don't bake very often. I find baking to be a science while cooking is an art. I'm not too good at science but I get a lot of good tips from my friend, Linda, who blogs at TodaySheloves. I merged two recipes to create this awesome bomb of deliciousness, the cookie dough recipe adapted from SeededAtTheTable (which you should try in it's entirety some time) and the idea came from The Domestic Rebel though I didn't follow the recipe. So here is the tasty treat I know you're dying to try!

For the Cookie Dough:

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Brownies:

You can either use your own recipe or cheat a bit like me and use a box! Make sure it fits an 11 X 8 pan

Topping:

16 oz of premium white chocolate baking chocolate

mini M & M's 

These take a little while to make but trust me they are worth it! First you need to make a pan of brownies. I used 1 box and put it in an 11 X 8" glass pan. I cheated and used a brownie mix but if you have a home made recipe you can use that. I baked them in foil so that I could just pull the foil out of the pan and it makes it easier to cut into squares.

You have to let them cool completely once they are done. So set aside and start working on your cookie dough.

If you have a cookie dough recipe you can use that but here is a great one if you need it. If you do use your own, make sure it doesn't call for eggs because we will not be cooking the cookie dough. Add the 1/2 cup of melted butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup white sugar to a bowl.

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Cream together until smooth

Next add the 1 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp vanilla extract to the sugar and blend until a ball forms and flour is fully incorporated

Then pour on your 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Kneed the chocolate chips into the dough 

Take a 1 Tbsp measuring spoon and then roll that until a ball. Pop it into the freezer for about an hour.

Once your cookie dough is hard in the freezer and your brownies are completely cooled, cut the brownies into 1 inch squares.

Take one of the squares and squash it down with the palm of your hand. Sorry for the blurry picture, it didn't seem blurry on my camera.

Take one of the cookie dough balls and stick it on top of your smashed brownie.

Then roll the brownie up around the cookie dough. You might have extra and you can tear that off to smash into another brownie if you need to. 

It's also alright if your brownie doesn't cover the cookie dough completely. It will be covered in chocolate and you won't see it. Or you can add extra bits of brownie if you have them 

Once they are all wrapped up in brownies, stick them on a foil wrapped pan and in the freezer for about 30 minutes. A tip, if you put them in two separate pans, keep one in the freezer while you work with the other so they stay cool. If they start to warm up the brownie will fall off when dipping in the chocolate.

When the brownies are frozen, it's time to melt your chocolate. I used 4 of these for all of my brownie bombs (16 oz of chocolate). 

So next dip your brownie in your melted chocolate and place back on the foil baking sheet to harden.

While it is still wet, sprinkle with mini M&M's. I put some on top immediately after I dipped them and then I added some to the sides after it hardened a little bit. If you put them on the sides too soon they will slide down to the bottom. 

Pop them in the fridge so they harden and then enjoy! I kept them in the fridge, I'm not sure how they will be if you take them out but my husband took some to work and they were fine (but they were eaten quickly!)

Scrumptious Strawberry Soup

A few years ago, I worked at a wonderful museum in a little town in Oklahoma. There was a restaurant nearby that for a just a few weeks in the summer they would sell strawberry soup. On days they sold it (every 2 or 3 days, not everyday), the line was out the door. It ranks up there with one of the best tasting, most mouthwatering thing I have ever. I found this recipe on NoBigDill and adapted it slightly. And although this doesn't taste quite like the little restaurants, it's still very good. And it's simple and quick, I like that. It can be made as a side dish or used as a dessert, it's so versatile! I make it every few weeks in the summer time. Life is too short to not indulge in this summer time treat!

1 pint strawberries

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup cream

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup honey

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

pinch of salt

a few mini chocolate chips (optional)

Cut the strawberry tops off and cut them in half 

Put them in a blender

Pour a 1/4 cup cream, 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup orange juice into the blender with the strawberries. Blend until smooth

Add the pinch of salt and 1/8 tsp ground cardamom. Blend again until smooth. Taste. If desired add more cream for a creamier flavor, add more honey if you want more of a sweet flavor (if using as a dessert do this).

You can add whole strawberries as a garnish if desired. Use this as a side dish to dinner.

If making this as a dessert, sprinkle a few chocolate chips in the soup. Tastes delicious!