Prime Rib!!!

Here is a recipe I found, that I was a little hesitant to try as I'm sure anyone is with an expensive piece of meat. Nonetheless, I figured I would have to try it sometime, so I did and it has become a family favorite as well as our new Christmas dinner. No more turkeys, chickens, or hams. The flavor was fabulous! A huge thank you to Chef Mike for sharing!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Garlic-Prime-Rib/Detail.aspx

The only adjustment I made was that I used a smaller piece of meat, 6 lbs instead of 10, but I still used the same amount of everything else. I used the oven thermometer instead of following the cooking instructions, and that was a big mistake, apparently the oven thermometer was not too accurate. It was still great just a little overcooked for my taste. So, I have not tried the cooking time posted in the recipe but after researching other various sites it seems correct, and I will be doing it that way next time. This one is certainly a keeper!

Chicken Noodle Soup

There is nothing like the comfort of homemade chicken noodle soup. So, here is a basic recipe just because I believe simplicity and freshness is the key here. I got all of my vegetables at a local farmer's market and it was surely worth it. You may care to adjust the amounts, personally I enjoy more "stuff" than broth so I add lots of everything, it's also quite filling this way.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 to 3 lb frying chicken cut up (I usually buy a 5 to 6 lb chicken, cut in in half right up the back and save the other half for something else)
10 1/2 cups water
2 tsp chicken bouillon
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup sliced celery
1 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
3 cups wide egg noodles
extra salt and pepper to taste
Place chicken pieces and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Skim the top, then add bouillon, specified amount of salt and pepper, bay leaf, and only 1/2 cup of the onion. Simmer covered for an additional 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken pieces, allow to cool a bit then remove the meat and shred. Skim the surface and add the meat back into the pot along with the carrots, celery, and remaining onion. Once again bring to a boil, reduce heat cover and simmer for 15 more minutes then remove bay leaf. Bring to a boil and drop in the noodles. Cook uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes or until noodles are done. I then add more salt and pepper to taste. I add even a few teaspoons of salt and maybe one or more of pepper, but that's my personal taste. Serve with buttered french bread.

Fruit Dip

Here is something so simple and so great. It is a perfect side if you are having guests for a brunch, or if you need something to bring to a potluck. It actually tastes almost like an orange-ish cheesecake dip. People really seem to like the fact that the fruit is healthy and the dip just adds that flavor of dessert to it. At a party it's quite addicting.

Ingredients:

1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme

1 package (8 oz) Philadelphia cream cheese

1 tsp fresh grated orange zest (I use a microplane, so easy, perfect size, and easy to clean)

Yep, that's it. All you have to do is blend them together with a hand mixer until creamy with no lumps. You may want to refrigerate for a little bit. Then serve in a bowl surrounded by fruit. My favorite is strawberries, I also enjoy apple slices and fresh pineapple chunks. If you do apple slices do not forget to toss them in a little bit of lemon juice so they don't turn brown. Toothpicks are a good idea for serving.

Hamburg and Barley Soup

Here's a soup that takes about an hour to cook, is full of flavor, but still simple to prepare. The only work involved is chopping up your onion, carrot, celery, and green pepper. The great part is not having to cut up any raw meat as I find that to usually be the most labor intensive and unenjoyable part of cooking.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb ground beef

7 cups water

3 tsp beef bouillon

2+ cups of chopped carrots

1 1/2 cups chopped red onion

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup barley

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup ketchup

2 -14.5 oz cans stewed tomatoes (italian style)

8 oz can tomato sauce

I've tried this soup, in the past, with a regular onion and regular stewed tomatoes, it tasted fine, however, I highly recommend the red onion and italian style stewed tomatoes as it adds an enormous amount of flavor in the end. In a large soup pan or dutch oven brown the ground beef. Drain the fat, if there is any, and add all of the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and continue to cook for 1 hour. Remove bay leaves and serve with french bread and butter! Perfect for a chilly evening!

Mini Mousse Cake

I found the greatest little cake pans at Michael's arts and crafts store. They are for making miniature cakes with a space in the middle to be filled with cremes, puddings, ice cream, fruits, etc. (It was $9.99 for four pans which makes 2 mini cakes, but make sure to use a 50% off coupon when you get them and it will only be five dollars). Anyways, I was inspired by a Strawberry Chocolate Mousse cake I once made from one of Marcel Desaulniers books titled Death by Chocolate. Don't get me wrong it was absolutely fabulous. It was one of those cakes that you could cut yourself a sliver and almost not be able to finish because it was so rich! It also took me almost an entire day altogether to make and the heap of dishes leftover was unsightly. So, I decided to make a simpler, less rich, and less messy version. I started out with eight mini pans, which is two sets. (Makes 4 mini cakes)

Ingredients:
1 chocolate cake mix
* ingredients needed to make cake per box directions
1/2 recipe of chocolate mousse (without the raspberry sauce)
strawberries
hot fudge or chocolate ganache for the icing

Grease the cake pans, (I sprayed them with Pam). Make the cake per box directions and evenly distribute it between the 8 cake pans. Cook at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes until done. Let rest for ten minutes, cut the tops off to make flat surfaces, and remove the cakes from their pans. Meanwhile make the half recipe of chocolate mousse, as seen previously in this blog, and refrigerate it to set. Let the cakes cool completely. Now, it is time to assemble. Take one cake and place a thin layer of chocolate mousse in the cavity area. Cut the tops off of as many strawberries as you wish to use. Place them in the hole in the middle of the cake as well. Spoon some additional chocolate mousse into a second cake and place the two cakes together with the mousse filled centers facing each other. Next, I heated up some hot fudge topping and spread it over the cake as icing. Another option would be to use chocolate ganache as icing, which is simply melted chocolate with cream added. Lastly, I sliced a strawberry almost to the top and fanned it out to decorate the top of the cake. There are so many different things you can do with these cakes. I would love to have a party with a bunch of different cakes, some white, some chocolate, maybe even some angel food cake, filled with strawberries, puddings, and mousses, all with different icings and decorations. A great idea for presentation, if you have some large candlesticks, is to place them right on top. A miniature cake plate if you will. Don't forget to keep cakes refrigerated after assembling (because of the mousse).

Hot Fudge Cake

This cake is a remake of a childhood memory. A long time ago, my mom took my sister and me to Bob's Big Boy and let us order the chocolate fudge cake. It was chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream in the middle, slathered in hot fudge, and topped with whipped cream and a cherry. It was absolutely fantastic! So, of course my sister and I would always ask for this and my mom came up with a brilliant idea to make it at home. It is quite simple and always a crowd pleaser. You simply make a chocolate cake per the directions in a 9 x 13 pan. Let it cool a little so that you can get it out of the pan without it breaking up. Slice the cake in the middle horizontally to make two layers. Next, you need some vanilla ice cream that comes in an unfoldable box so that you can open it up all the way and cut a slab off of it. Cut a slab of ice cream off that will fit on top of your cake, lay it on top of the bottom layer and stack the other layer on top of that. Heat some hot fudge topping in the microwave, (I can not emphasize enough, this is not even close to the same as chocolate syrup, you must get the bottle that says hot fudge). Pour the hot fudge over the top and top with whipped cream and a cherry! This dessert is definitely indulgent. Not much of a recipe, I know, but in this case, it couldn't get any better. Thanks mom!

Pear Toasts

What makes a good Hors d'Oeuvres? For me it's minimal ingredients, quick preparation, tastiness, and most importantly, can it be served at room temperature? This one satisfies all of these. I really like things that can be served at room temperature because that means I can make them ahead of time and not worry about them, a lot less stress when you have a bunch of people coming over. These are simple, and people are always asking me for the recipe, even though they are so easy it hardly seems like a recipe.

Ingredients:

1 baguette

1 pear

blue cheese crumbles

chopped walnuts

Slice the baguette into thin slices about 1/4 inch thick. (Make as many slices as you want Hors d'Oeuvres.) Heat the oven and put on broil. Lay out the baguette slices on a cookie sheet and put under the broiler for a minute on each side, browning slightly. This dries them a bit so when you cook them with the pear on top they do not get soggy. Take out of the oven and place a pear slice on top of each baguette (sliced about 1/8 inch thick). Next place a small amount of blue cheese crumbles and chopped walnuts on top. Place back under the broiler for a few minutes, watching them closely (anything under a broiler can burn quickly). Once the cheese has melted take out of the oven and place on a serving tray. I really hope you like these!