Chocolate Pot de Creme Pie

Chocolate Pot de Creme
Heidi Munion

Saving this for the holiday seasons for my boys. So rich. Like eating fudge, but in a pie. Mmmmm.

2 cups cream
1 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup sugar
4 beaten egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
crust of your preference (Pillsbury premade or graham cracker or homemade. I recommend Kristi's pie crust recipe.)

1. Combine cream, chocolate, and sugar in medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat about 10 minutes or till mixture comes to a full boil and thickens. Remove from heat.

2. Temper the egg yolks by whisking in drizzles of about 1/3 cup of the hot chocolate mixture, then stir egg yolk mixture into the chocolate. Stir in vanilla.

3. Pour through a sieve into prepared pie crust to strain out lumps.

Chill 4-24 hours. May garnish with whipped cream, raspberries, or chocolate shavings.

Homemade Yogurt

I have three recipes I've pulled from and need somewhere to write this one down!

Homemade Yogurt in the Crock Pot

1/2 gallon (8 cups) milk
1 Tbsp yogurt (must have listed in the ingredients active live cultures-I used Fage Total 2%)

1. Pour the half gallon of milk into your crock pot and turn it on low. Cook for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
2. After it cooks, turn crock pot off and let cool for 3 hours or until the temperature drops between 110 and 120 degrees.
3. Spoon a small amount of milk into a small bowl and add 1 Tbsp of yogurt to it. Mix together.
4. Pour mixture back into milk in the crock pot and stir once or twice.
5. Put the lid back on your crock pot and wrap the crock pot with a large beach towel or blanket (make sure the crock pot is unplugged and turned off--this helps keep the heat in the crock pot and allows it to cool more slowly).
6. Let sit for 8-12 hours. 
7. Spoon into jars or plastic containers and refrigerate a few hours before eating.

This will keep for 1-2 weeks in your fridge. Be sure to save 1 Tbsp to use as your starter for your next batch of homemade yogurt.

Yields: 2 quarts

Serve with honey and fruit! (This is plain yogurt.)

Cinnamon Bun Cake

Keep this one in your files. It's amazing!! And, it's oh so good warm out of the oven topped with vanilla ice cream!!!

INGREDIENTS

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup butter melted

- TOPPING -

1 cup butter softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

 - GLAZE -

2 cups powdered sugar

5 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 glass baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

2.    In an electric or stand mixer add the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Once combined well , slowly stir in the melted butter. Pour into the prepared 9×13 baking pan.

3.    For topping, In a large bowl mix the 2 sticks of butter, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon together until well combined and creamy. Drop evenly over the batter by the tablespoonful’s and use a knife to marble/swirl through the cake.

4.    Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out nearly clean.

5.    FOR GLAZE: In a medium bowl, mix the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla together with a whisk. Drizzle evenly over the warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Fresh Veggie Stack

I saw this on my friend's facebook page and HAVE to make it!

Stack tomatoes, some mozzarella cheese, basil and asparagus and drizzle with some balsamic vinaigrette. Delicious.

Coconut Mango Rice

I almost forgot how to post a recipe its been so long!  This is a recipe I had been wanting to try for a long time.  I don't even know where I heard about it but it is so easy I didn't need to write it down.  It's just been in my head all this time:)  This rice is very sweet and you don't have to add the mangos if you don't have them.  The coconut rice alone is delicious.  So, next time you have left over rice give this a try!


Mango Coconut Rice

1 c. canned coconut milk
6 Tbls. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. cooked white rice
1 mango, chopped (optional)

Simmer coconut milk, sugar, and salt together stirring constantly.  About 3 minutes.  Add cooked rice and mix to combine.  Let sit so the rice can soak up the liquid.  Add chopped mangos right before serving.  Yummo!!

Sweet & Sour Cabbage

I thought this recipe was already on here, but it's not! I was searching and searching. This, along with the German potato salad are must haves when you make bratwurst. If you want to have an authentic Oktoberfest, make these.

PS. In German cooking, bacon grease is a must have ingredient. Don't worry. It's fat-free. :)



Sweet & Sour Cabbage
(Betty Crocker)

1 medium head red cabbage (1 1/2 lb), thinly sliced
4 slices bacon, diced
1 small onion, sliced
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

In 10-inch skillet, heat 1 inch water to boiling. Add cabbage; heat to boiling. Boil uncovered about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender; drain and set aside. Wipe out and dry skillet with paper towel.

In same skillet, cook bacon over medium heat 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in onion. Cook 2 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bacon is crisp. Remove bacon and onion with slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Drain fat, reserving 1 tablespoon in skillet.

Stir brown sugar and flour into bacon fat in skillet. Stir in water, vinegar, salt and pepper until well mixed.

Stir in cabbage, bacon and onion. Cook over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot.

Makes 8 servings (1/2 cup each)

I scoured the web for a whole wheat waffle recipe and found the perfect one. It's light and I love the hint of cinnamon. Something you can feel good about serving your family!

Whole-Wheat Waffles
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com
SERVES: 4 – 5

INGREDIENTS
2 large eggs
1 ¾ cups milk (I have used everything from skim milk to thick buttermilk…so whatever you have on hand should work)
¼ cup oil (I used coconut oil)
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s organic white whole-wheat flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
Warmed 100% pure maple syrup for serving
Fresh fruit for serving

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your waffle iron.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, honey, cinnamon, and baking soda until well combined.
Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk together just until the large lumps disappear.
When the waffle iron is hot, dab it with a little butter and then ladle some batter onto the center of the iron. Follow the instructions that came with your waffle maker to know how long it should be cooked (mine takes about 3 – 4 minutes each).
Keep waffles warm until you finish cooking all of them. Top with pure maple syrup and fruit. Enjoy!

Buttermilk Syrup

I posted this on my family blog and thought I would just share it with y'all here.

Have you ever had Buttermilk Syrup?  It is absolutely delicious, and once you have it you won't want to go back to plain old maple syrup.  Seriously, it's amazing!  Buttermilk syrup has this amazing rich buttery flavor that is to die for.  Absolutely everyone should have breakfast for dinner as soon as possible aka tonight and whip up a batch of this deliciousness.

Buttermilk syrup is easy to make.  Plus you can just store it in a jar in the fridge and heat up the leftovers in the microwave every time you have something syrup can be enjoyed on.  If you are like us, you will be looking for things to put this delicious buttermilk syrup on.

Alright, here's the recipe.  I know there are a lot of them online, but this one is pretty much the best.

Buttermilk Syrup 

1- In a large pot melt 1 cube of butter on low heat.
2- Add 1 cup of sugar and stir it in.
3- Add 1 cup of buttermilk.
4- Turn up the heat and dissolve sugar.
5- Add 1 tsp of baking soda.
6- It will get really foamy and frothy at this point.  This is the reason why you put it all in the large pot.
7- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in 1 tsp of vanilla.    
8- Serve syrup warm and enjoy it with pancakes, waffles, biscuits, ice cream, and more.

Now go make some!  It's delicious!