Au Gratin Potatoes

I love potatoes! I mean seriously love potatoes. I have never met a potato I don't like. Raw, baked, fried, boiled, mashed, it doesn't matter potatoes rule the world in my eyes. Mashed of course is my favorite, but I also love Au Gratin Potatoes. Umm, they are so creamy and cheesy.....excuse me a minute I'm drooling. 

Now I will admit, I was raised eating these lovely things from a box. You know what I'm talking about and I bet you have had them too. Now the reason most make these from a box is because Au Gratin Potatoes are intimidating. But I promise you they are easy. They just take a little time, but they are soooo worth it! Promise.

Individual Au Gratin Potatoes

4 Russet Potatoes (Sliced thinly)

3 Cups Shredded Cheese (I use whatever blend I have in the fridge)

1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese (Grated, you know like what you use for spaghetti)

1/4 Cup Cream for each dish OR 2 1/4 Cups Cream

In an 8 oz. oven safe dish, spray with cooking spray. This recipe will make 9 8oz. individual servings of Au Gratin potatoes. If you don't want to make individual servings just take a 9x9 baking dish and do the same. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a small layer of sliced potatoes on the bottom of dish. Potatoes will overlap and won't lie flat, but that's okay. Once you have a layer of potatoes sprinkle a layer of shredded cheese over the potatoes, I use a medium pinch. Then sprinkle about 1/2 Tablespoon of parmesan cheese on top of the shredded cheese. Do this for another 2 layers, but don't add the cheese on the last layer. Then take 1/4 cup of cream and pour over the potatoes. If you are using a 9x9 dish slowly pour the cream in the pan. Pour about half the cream in and let it settle to the bottom. Then you can add more cream. You do not want your cream to come all the way to the top of the potatoes. Instead you want the cream to come about 1/2 way up. This will ensure that you don't have too much cream and your potatoes don't turn out soupy. After you pour in the cream, top with your remaining cheese, like this...

Bake in the oven for about an hour or until a butter knife easily goes through all the layers of potatoes. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes. Warning: If using individual dishes the dish will still be hot after 10 minutes.

Now serve with your favorite Main course and eat up!

Green Chile Wontons

Can you guess what that is? If you guessed wontons then you are correct. And if you read the title of this post then props to you. And yes it says Green Chile. Living in the Southwest we have this little obsession with Chile. You know how most states have a state bird, state flower and that sort of thing? Well ours has a question...Red or Green? (Um, that question is in reference to the type of Chile, red or green). Yes Chile is that big a deal here in the grand state of New Mexico and yes that question causes fights and arguments bigger than the Grand Canyon.

And if you live in New Mexico those little diddies above are something that you can get just about anywhere that serves Chinese. I know weird huh? But it is what it is.

So you know, this recipe is super easy and rather quick. How do you make them you ask? Well here ya go.

Green Chile Wontons

1 8oz. Package Cream Cheese at room temperature

2 oz. Canned Green Chile (Whatever you can get your hands on. You can also use fresh)

1 Garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt

Wonton Wrappers

Oil for frying

Small bowl of water

In a large stock pot heat approximately enough oil to fill the pan about 2/3 full over medium heat. While the oil is heating combine the cream cheese, green Chile, garlic and salt in a medium bowl. Once you have your mixture take a wonton wrapper and place about 1 tablespoon of the mixture in the middle. Then dipping your finger in the water, run you wet finger around the edges of the wonton wrapper and fold the wrapper in any shape you like. Then just press the edges together to make sure they seal. (That's what the water is for). Then place them on a sheet pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. In order to keep your wontons from drying out the best thing to do would be to cover them with a slightly damp towel. Place that wonton aside and keep assembling wontons until all the mixture is gone. Once the oil is hot enough, you can test this by placing in a small corner of a wonton wrapper in the oil. If the oil bubbles and the wrapper rises then the oil is ready, if it sinks and doesn't bubble, let your oil heat longer. When the oil is ready begin placing wontons in the oil, but you don't want to fry them all at once. I would start with anywhere between 5 and 6 depending on the size of your pan. Fry them on one side for about 2 minutes or until golden brown and then flip over in order to brown the other side. Once the entire wonton is golden brown remove from the oil and place on a paper towel to help remove the excess oil. 

Now you can serve them with you favorite dipping sauce or just eat them as is. Trust me they don't need a sauce.

My Search for Yellow Cake Perfection

My love and obsession with cupcakes is no secret. Hence the reason my recipe list is full of cupcake recipe after cupcake recipe. But I also have another obsession, okay, quite a few actually, but right now we are only going to talk about one of them.....my obsession for the perfect yellow cake recipe. 

Currently when I make any cupcake that requires any batter other than chocolate I use a cake mix, *gasp* I know. But my use of cake mixes has spurred me to try and create the perfect yellow cake recipe. And this is where my obsession comes in. I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to food. And I don't like to use recipes, I like to create them, but until I can create a recipe that I think is perfect, or pretty darn close I become obsessed. Such is the case with my search for the perfect yellow cake.

If you are a baker then you may know that finding a good yellow cake recipe is hard. Well at least for me it was. I tried many recipes before I really enjoyed baking and never found a recipe that I liked. They all seemed dry and severely lacking. So I resolved myself to using the always easy cake mix, but that get's expensive and then I feel like I'm cheating. Well sometimes. Now I know there is nothing wrong with using a cake mix, believe me, I love them, but I still want to create that perfection.

Of course in my search for perfection I have had my fair share of fails. And boy do I mean fails. I am now on version 7 of the recipe. With every attempt altering one ingredient at a time, so that I know which ingredient needed to be changed. 

I am happy to report that on my last attempt I came pretty dang close. The taste is there, but the cake is a little dense for my liking. So now on to attempt number 8. Yikes! 

Want to know a few things I have learned through this process? (Well I'm going to tell you anyway)

1) Creating a yellow cake recipe is harder then creating a chocolate cake recipe. (That recipe came to me while I was sitting in a boring lecture)

2) I am wwwaaaaaayyyyy obsessive

and 3) This yellow cake might be the death of me

What is it that you obsess over? 

Slacker

Wow! It has been a really long time since I have posted anything here. I am so sorry! But things have been kind of crazy as of late. In the span of a month I got a job, had to find a new place to live and had to relocate my family of seven to a new city. So needless to say I have been busy. I haven't even done much cooking with all this mess. But I do promise that I have some recipes in the works that will be coming your way. Once I get my kitchen settled and my life back in order that is. But it shouldn't be too long now.

Sorry for not being around too much, but thanks for all the support and sticking around.

Banana Oat Raisin Pancakes with Honey Cinnamon Butter

I am going to let you in on a little secret. Pancakes are a lot like cupcakes. As in they both are easy to add flavors and special touches to that really take them up a notch or two! If you can dream it, you can make a pancake our cupcake out of it. 

I think we have pancakes at least twice a month in my house. But I am not a huge pancake fan, unless they are so drenched in syrup that all I taste is the syrup. But I have discovered that I like different flavored pancakes and so I set out to make a pancake that I would hopefully like just as much as I like cupcakes, only not as sweet and hopefully not as bad for me! Not really sure how that better for me part turned out, but I did like them as much as I like cupcakes, so that is saying something!!

Banana Oat Raisin Pancakes

Yield: ~16 Large Pancakes

3 Cups Pancake Mix

1 Tbsp. Cinnamon

1/2 Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

1/2 Cups Oats

2 Smashed Over Ripe Bananas

1 tsp. Vanilla

3/4 Cup Raisins

2 Cups Water

In a large bowl combine the first 4 ingredients. Add the water and mix thoroughly, I prefer to use a whisk. Stir until you are certain that there are no large lumps in the batter. Then add the remaining ingredients (bananas, raisins and vanilla) mix it a couple of times. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Once pan is hot pour some of the pancake batter in the pan until you reach the size pancakes desired. I made mine rather large. Cook until bubbles appear in the pancake and you can see the edges firming. Slightly lift up one edge, if the pancake is lightly brown, then flip over and cook until that side is also golden brown. Remove from pan and add more batter. Continue doing this until all the pancakes are cooked. Place to the side.

Honey Cinnamon Butter

1/2 Cup Butter, sofetened or Margarine

1 tsp. Cinnamon

2 Tbsp. Honey

In a small bowl mix the above ingredients together until well blended. You can use a mixer if you need to, but if the butter is soft enough you should be able to mix it with a spoon. 

Now you can take one of those awesome pancakes and lather it with this yummy butter! Drizzle or smother with syrup and eat up! You can also top with pecans or walnuts to add a nice crunch! 

Green Chile Stew

I have lived in New Mexico for a very long time, and enjoy most of the food that this culture has to offer. One of them just so happens to be Green Chile Stew, but no matter how much I enjoy it, I have never attempted to make it on my own. Frankly I don't know why, but the other day I bit the bullet, finally took the plunge and made the Green Chile Stew that my taste buds have been dreaming of. 

Green Chile Stew

Yield: ~12 servings

2 Tbsp. Oil

1 lb. Beef Stew Meat (can also use pork or chicken)

1 Cup + 1 Tbsp.  All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

1 tsp. Season Salt

2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

1 tsp. Ranch Powder

2 tsp. Black Pepper

4 Large Yukon Gold Potatoes peeled, cubed

2 tsp. Kosher Salt

1/2 Large Red Onion, chopped

1 Large Garlic Clove, minced

2 4oz. Cans of Hatch Green Chile

32 oz. Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1 14.5 oz. Can of Diced Tomatoes

4 Beef Bouillon Cubes

In a large stock pot heat oil over medium heat. While oil and pan are coming to temperature take 1 Cup of flour (reserve the 1 Tbsp. for later) and the next 4 ingredients and 1 tsp of pepper. Mix together in a shallow pan like a 9x9 pan. Take your stew beef, pat it dry and lightly coat each piece of meat in the flour, being sure to shake off the excess flour. Once the oil is hot (test by sprinkling some flour in the oil, if it bubbles then it is ready) place about half the stew beef in the pan, leaving enough room around each piece being sure not to crowd the pan. Cook until that side has browned, then turn and allow the other side to brown. The goal here is not to cook the meat completely but to get a nice sear. Once the meat is seared remove from the pan and place on a platter. Cook the remaining meat the same way. Once all the meat is cooked and removed from the oil add the potatoes, onion, garlic, kosher salt and 1 tsp. black pepper. Saute until the potatoes are slightly tender. Add green chile and heat through. Then add the 1 Tbsp. of flour set aside earlier and add to the vegetables. Stir the vegetables thoroughly to ensure that they are all coated in flour and that the flour taste is cooked out, about 30 seconds. Then add the last three ingredients and the stew beef, cover and cook for a minimum of a half an hour. But the longer you cook it the better the flavors will meld. 

After you have waited ever so patiently for that half an hour, ladle up some soup and top with your favorite toppings such as cheese and sour cream. Now eat up!!! And to let you in on a secret, this stew is just better the next day!

Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream

A while back I threw a birthday party for my two oldest boys, nothing special, just some kids at the park with cupcakes. That is the special part. I allowed them to each pick the kind of cupcakes offered at their party. One chose Mountain Dew and the other chose Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream! You could also call these Chocolate Dream Cupcakes! Cause seriously that's what they are.....a chocolate dream! Well at least they are mine! 

So here it is....First you need to start with my basic chocolate cupcake recipe. Which you can find here: Basic Chocolate Cupcakes

Then you make my Nutella Chocolate Mousse, which you can find here: Nutella Chocolate Mousse

Keep the Mousse in the fridge for a minimum of an hour. This will allow it to set. Now you get to make chocolate buttercream, which is a breeze and my absolute favorite. I would eat just this if I didn't feel so guilty. (Psst....I eat a bunch of it when I make cupcakes, but don't tell anyone).

Chocolate Buttercream

1 Cup Milk chocolate chips

2 Sticks Butter (salted or unsalted)

1 Cup Butter flavor Crisco

1 tsp. Vanilla

3 1/2 Cups Powdered sugar

In medium saucepan, combine chocolate and 1 stick of butter, place over medium heat and melt chocolate; whisk until butter and chocolate combine. Remove from the heat and allow chocolate to cool completely, you don't want your buttercream to melt! In a large bowl, or in your stand mixer cream together Butter Flavor Crisco and the other stick of butter. Add vanilla and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and mix on medium speed. Add another 1/2 a cup of powdered sugar and mix thoroughly. Once chocolate is cool pour some chocolate into the creamed mixture and mix together. (Make sure you scrap the bowl before you add the next ingredient). Now continue to add 1/2 a cup of powdered sugar and chocolate until both ingredients have been completely used. Mixture should be thick enough to not fall off a spoon and easy enough to pipe. If the mixture is too soft add another 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. If the mixture is too thick, add 1 Tbsp. of water, until the mixture reaches the desired thickness. Keep in mind that the temperature and humidity in your kitchen will effect the amount of powdered sugar needed to reach your desired thickness.


Once all elements are made now you get to assemble these yummy cupcakes. Using a melon baller remove a good portion of the cupcake, make sure not to remove too much and ruin the stability of the cupcake. Then using a spoon or a piping bag fill the hole with Nutella Chocolate Mousse. Make sure you fill it to the top of the cupcake. Then using a piping bag and whatever tip you like pipe the chocolate buttercream on top of the cupcake making sure to cover the chocolate mousse. Now they are ready! Chow down!!!

Store in the fridge in order to keep mousse stability. But can still be at room temperature for a while before the Mousse will loose it's stability!