St. Patrick's Day Fun! (a little late)

I hope you found your way to something green and delicious this weekend! I came across this blog post that listed 20 St. Patrick's Day Recipes!  Some are really creative. Check it out!

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Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

I was really excited to make and try these cookies! I found the original post on Pinterest and they looked so good. Even though they were really good-- they didn't turn out the way I expected. It sort of just tasted like a smaller version of strawberry cake, and I was hoping they would have the consistency of cookies. Jason had the genius idea to make double doozies with them-- leave it to the sugar monster I live with to come up with that! haha. I will definitely make these again.

Ingredients for cookies and icing:
- 1/2 cup of softened butter (1/4 cup for cookies and 1/4 cup for icing)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup of cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups of powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (1 tsp for cookies and 1 tsp for icing)
- 1 cup + 1/4 cup of strawberry cake mix

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 1/4 cup of butter, egg, 1 tsp of vanilla, and cake mix. Stir until smooth. Put in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
2) Form 1 inch balls on cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are barely browned.
3) While cookies are baking, make the frosting. Stir together the remaining 1/4 cup of butter and cream cheese. Then add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar- mix until smooth.
4) After the cookies have cooled, frost them and finish with sprinkles. Or, be a complete glutton (like me) and make a double doozie!
5) Voila!

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King Cake!!

Happy Mardi Gras! This holiday is very near and dear to my heart. It's one of the only days that miss living in Louisiana! I think it takes moving away from your home town to really appreciate it. One thing I love about Louisiana is that it is so culturally rich. So much history, hospitality, and most of all- the best food on the planet! I love Texas and I absolutely love living in Austin. But there's no place like home : -).

Today, just for fun, I read my kindergarteners a story about Mardi Gras and let them wear purple, green, and gold beads all day. At the end of the day I played some traditional Mardi Gras music for them to dance to-- and they LOVED it! One girl said, "I wish I lived there so I could do this every day!" With a room full of five year olds, there's never a dull moment!

Mardi Gras is a celebration that happens on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. It's become a day where people indulge themselves before the Lenten season. One of the traditional foods for this time of year is King Cake. I found a somewhat simple recipe for King Cake, so I decided to bring a little bit of Louisiana to Austin and have my own little celebration.

For my first attempt, I think it came out great! It did not look as great as the ones that you buy from a bakery, but it tasted very similar. Next time I will add more cream cheese to the filling to make it even better.

Ingredients:
- 2 cans of original crescent rolls (you will need about 12 triangles)
- 1/4 cup of cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons of milk
- purple, green, and yellow food coloring
- 1/3 cup of brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon of melted butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Unroll the dough and separate the triangles. Place each triangle side by side with top points (the narrow side) touching in the center, to make a circle. Press the seams of the wide side of the triangles together.
3. In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Spread this all around on the crescent triangles.
4. In another bowl, mix together the brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon and pour on top of the cream cheese.
5. Now it's time to roll up the triangles to make a circular cake. Start with the narrow side (the points that are in the middle of the pan). Fold point over to reach the wide side. Then roll over once more. Do this all the way around the pan until you have a circular looking cake.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
7. While the cake is cooling, make combine the powdered sugar and milk to make the icing. You might need to add a little more milk until desired consistency is reached.
8. Separate the icing into 3 separate bowls and use food coloring to make purple, green, and gold icing. When cake has cooled, drizzle each color icing on the cake with a spoon.
9. Voila!

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A Farque Favorite: Rick's Pineapple Ham

 Rick (my father-in-law) is a great cook- probably one of the best I know! He's like a male version of Paula Deen! He's Southern to the core; his three loves in life are his family, his dog, and food. He cooks with so much love and usually without recipes. He has a perfect sense for flavor- I've never tasted anything that he cooks that hasn't made me drool with every bite!

One of my favorite things that he cooks around the holidays is ham. Oh. My. Goodness. This ham is so good! It's by far the best ham I've ever eaten! Jason and I went home for Christmas this year and nearly cried when we realized that he didn't make his famous ham for Christmas lunch! We told him that next year we don't want presents- we just want ham! 

After making Rick promise that he would never do that to us again on Christmas, I decided to try to recreate his recipe for New Year's Day. I was shocked at how simple the recipe was- and only a few ingredients. For my very first ham, it was really good! It didn't have Rick's special touch to it, but it was really close. If you enjoy ham, I demand that you try this! It will change your life, as will all of Rick's cooking!

Ingredients:

- 1 raw ham (it's very important not to get the one that is already cooked). Mine was about 9 pounds!

- 3 tablespoons of mustard

- 4 tablespoons of brown sugar

- 1 can of pineapple rings in 100% juice

- Greek seasoning

Directions:

1) In a bowl, mix together the mustard and brown sugar to make a paste. Rub this all over the ham.

2) Then sprinkle the Greek seasoning all over the ham.

3) Cover with foil and bake in the over for 3 hours at 375 degrees.

4) Take the ham out of the oven and rub another layer of of the mustard and brown sugar paste. Use toothpicks to secure the pineapple rings all over the ham. 

5) Continue baking for another hour at 350 degrees, uncovered. 

6) After the hour has passed, remove ham from oven and insert a thermometer to insure that the temperature has reached 160 degrees. If not, continue cooking for about 30 minutes or so.

7) When done cooking, let the ham rest for about 30 minutes before slicing so the juices have time to set.

8) Voila!

Do you have a family favorite recipe? I'd love to hear it!

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Classic Fantasy Fudge

A very dear teacher friend of mine made this delicious fudge for me 2 years in a row- so this year I decided I would make some! This recipe is from the Kraft Foods website. One thing I love about Kraft recipes is that they are quick and easy! I really love this fudge- and the recipe makes a 13x9 pan full, perfect for sharing. You can also make this in the microwave! I'll put the details below. Jason brought a pan with him to work and he said his coworkers devoured it. If you need a simple and delicious gift for a friend or maybe a dessert for a holiday party- try this! You will love it!

Ingredients:
- 3 cups of sugar
- 3/4 cup of butter
- 1 small can of evaporated milk (5 ounces or 2/3 cup)
- 1 package of semi-sweet milk chocolate chips
- 1 jar, 7 ounces, of Jet Puffed marshmallow creme
- 1 cup of chopped walnuts
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:
1) Line a 13x9 inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides.
2) Bring sugar, butter, and evaporated milk to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Cook for about 4 minutes.
3) Add chocolate and marshmallow creme, stir until melted.
4) Add nuts and vanilla, mix well.
5) Pour into pan and spread to cover bottom of pan. Cool completely. Use foil handles to lift fudge from the pan before cutting into squares. I used a pizza cutter to make the cutting easy.


Microwave Preparation:

To prepare the fudge in the microwave, place butter in 4-qt. microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 min. or until melted. Add sugar and milk; mix well. Microwave 5 min. or until mixture begins to boil, stirring after 3 min. Stir well, scraping down side of bowl. Microwave 5-1/2 min., stirring after 3 min. Let stand 2 min. Add chocolate and marshmallow creme; continue as directed.

Thanks, Laurie, for sharing this great recipe! 

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Homemade Corn Dogs

I skipped "Crock Pot Monday" today because I made some Spicy Pulled Pork in my slow cooker last night for Jason's team at work. It was a hit, but I'm not surprised. That stuff is so good! You should try it!!

I saw these on the Pioneer Woman's blog and also a few other places online. I had to try them! Call me crazy but I love hot dogs and corn dogs. I think it's because they remind me so much of my childhood. I was surprised by how easy it was to make the corn dogs. And they were so good-- tasted just like ones you would buy at a fair or carnival.

Ingredients:
- 3 cups of Krusteaz Pancake Mix
- 1 cup of yellow corn meal
- 2 eggs
- 2-3 cups of water
- hot dogs
- wooden skewers
- canola oil for frying

Directions:
1) In a large bowl, combine the pancake mix and cornmeal.
2) Add the eggs and mix altogether.
3) Start out by adding 2 cups of water, then work your way up to 3 or 4, until the batter becomes slightly think but not too gloopy.
4) Insert skewers into hot dogs, about 2/3 the way through.
5) Heat oil over medium heat.
6) Dip the hot dog into the mixture, make sure it's evenly coated, and then drop into hot oil. Cook until golden brown, probably about 2-5 minutes.
7) Voila!

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Halloween Fun

This week at school we had Halloween-themed treats during lunch. There were so many cute and yummy ideas so I took a few pictures of my favorites.

1)Frightening Lady Fingers (This one was my favorite!)

How cute and creepy is this!?

Ingredients: (yields about 5 dozen cookies)
- 1 cup of butter, softened
- 1 cup of confectioner's sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon each of vanilla extract and almond extract
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- red decorating gel (the icing in the tube)
- 1/2 cup of sliced almonds

Directions:
1) Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and extracts.
2) Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture.
3) Divide the dough into fourths. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until easy to handle.
4) Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll into 1 inch balls. Shape balls into 3 inch x 1/2 inch fingers.
5) Use the flat tip of a table knife, make an indentation on one end of each for fingernail. With a knife, make three slashes in the middle of each finger for the knuckle.
6) Place 2 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly brown.
7) Cool for 3 minutes. Squeeze a small amount of red gel on nail bed, press sliced almond over gel for nail, allowing gel to ooze around the nail.
8) Remove to wire racks to cool.
9) Voila!



2)Mummy Cupcakes

This is just regular cupcakes and the icing is applied with through a pastry bag with a tip. For the eyes you can use a different color icing or M&Ms. How cute and easy!!


3)Monster Cupcakes

One of my very dear friends made these with her kids..Just for fun! I think they turned out super cute. It's just chocolate sprinkles all over the top of the cupcake. The eyes are made out of small marshmallows and mini green M&Ms. Love it!


4) Goblin Good Cake

First, I love the little sign in this cake. So cute for parties so you don't leave your guests wondering, "What is that, exactly?"  This cake was super yummy. It's just a regular cake mix on the bottom, cream cheese icing, and crushed up Butterfinger  candy bar for the topping!


Do you have any festive Halloween treat recipes? Please share them by posting a comment below!

I'll end with a Halloween joke......What does a monster call his parents? Mummy and Deady! haha. Happy Halloween!!

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Jason's Oven Toasted S'mores

Happy 4th of July!

I hope your day was filled with great friends, memories, and most importantly great FOOD! I wanted to share one fun recipe that Jason created. Why should you only eat this delicious dessert in the winter around a fire? And if you live in Texas like us, that means only about one month a year! Jason had the genius idea of heating everything in the oven for a few minutes to give the s'mores that "toasted" taste. And I can't forget the secret ingredient: Jett-Puffed Swirl Marshmallows! These are so good.

Here's how he does it:

Ingredients:
- graham crackers
- chocolate bars
- swirl marshmallows
- a little bit of melted butter

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Line graham crackers in the bottom of a 13x9 pan and lightly brush with melted butter.
3) Cover the graham crackers with the chocolate bars.
4) Stand the marshmallows up on the chocolate pieces.
5) Heat in oven for about 4-5 minutes or until the chocolate and marshmallows start to melt.
6) Remove from oven and top with graham crackers. Below is a picture:

7) Brush tops lightly with melted butter and return to oven for another 1-2 minutes. Cut apart and eat!

Voila! Enjoy this simple and delish dessert anytime of the year!

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Oven Roasted BBQ Chicken

Yesterday I proclaimed that I would never buy salsa from a grocery store again because I found a delish and easy recipe. Today I'm proclaiming that I will never buy BBQ sauce from a store again! This was the easiest BBQ chicken ever- and Oh. So. Good! I cannot believe how simple and quick of a meal this was-- while we were eating we kept saying, "Why haven't we thought of this sooner!?" We used drumsticks but you can use any bone-in chicken you'd like!

Ingredients:
- 12 whole chicken legs
- 1 tablespoon of canola oil
- 1/4 cup of onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup of ketchup
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons of distilled vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup of molasses
- 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 4 tablespoons of chipotle adobo sauce (the sauce the chipotle peppers are packed in)

I had never heard of the adobo sauce until this recipe. I found it with the Mexican peppers and chilies. Here's what the can looks like:

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly season chicken and place on a broiler pan (or any pan with a rack) and roast for 20 minutes.
2) While the chicken is roasting, heat canola oil in a saucepan. Add onion and garlic and cook for five minutes.
3) Reduce heat to low, add all remaining ingredients and stir. Allow to simmer while the chicken roasts. Taste the sauce after simmering and add whatever ingredient it needs to fit your pallet (more spice, more sugar, etc.)
4) After 20 minutes of roasting, crank on the broiler to get a little color on the legs. Broil for 5-10 minutes.
5) Remove chicken from oven. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. With tongs, dip each drumstick into the sauce, submerging completely. Place back onto the pan. After all the chicken is coated, return pan to oven for 5-8 minutes, or until hot and sizzling.
6) Remove from oven. Brush generously with remaining sauce.

Here's a picture of the final plate- I made some homemade potato salad and BBQ beans to go with this delicious chicken. YUMMY!

Adjustments for Next Time:

• I think I will add a little mustard to the sauce. The sauce already has the perfect amount of sweetness and spice- it just needs a little more tangy-ness (yes I just made up that word).
• I might also cut back on the amount of brown sugar... Just to see!
• I also think that I will leave the chicken under the broiler for a little longer to make it a little bit more crispy on the outside.
• NOTE: This sauce would be amazing on pork! I can't wait to try it.

I hope you enjoy this!

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Triple Threat Salsas!

I have been reading many different recipe blogs and websites to find some new creations to try. I have become quite addicted to the Kraft Food and Family website, and The Pioneer Woman Cooks food blog. Both of these are full of GREAT recipes that are simple and sound so yummy!       

Last night was "Mexican Date Night" in the Farque house. Often times we don't "go out" for dates. We stay in, listen to music, talk, and laugh -- all while celebrating life and cooking something delish together. It's my favorite kind of date! Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) posted 2 homemade salsa recipes that I just had to try. Well I made a few changes to her recipes and BOTH are sooooo, sooooo good! If you are a chips and salsa addict like me, you must try these! They are super easy (each only taking about 5-10 minutes to make).

Below I have typed all three recipes. The guacamole recipe is a Farque family specialty!  

1) Guacamole!

Ingredients: Sorry about not giving exact measurements- it all depends on how many people you are making it for and your taste. Add/subtract to the amount of cilantro, lime, and onion to fit your pallet!

- fresh avocados (about 1 per person)

- juice from 1 fresh lime

- a handful of chopped, fresh cilantro 

- diced tomatoes

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Put everything in a bowl, except the tomatoes, and mash with a potato masher until you reach the desired consistency.
2) Add tomatoes and stir with a spoon.
3) Voila!

2) Red Salsa! Until tonight, I was one jar away from NEVER buying/eating store-bought salsa again. Jason and I have wasted so many jars because we haven't found any that are worth eating! This recipe confirms that- I will never buy salsa again! This stuff is so easy to make and so full of flavor! The only drawback to this recipe is that it makes ALOT-- a huge bowl full! Next time I will scale it down a bit. But here is the full recipe:

Ingredients:

- 1 can of whole tomatoes with juice

- 1 can of original Rotel

- 1 can of mild Rotel

- 1/4 cup of chopped onion

- 1 clove of garlic, minced

- 1 whole, fresh jalapeno, sliced and chopped thin

- 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

- 1/2 whole lime juice

- 1/4 teaspoon of sugar, salt, and cumin

Directions:

Combine everything in a large food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you'd like. Test seasonings and adjust as needed. Cover and refrigerate before serving. 

3) Fresh Corn and Avocado Salsa! I saved the BEST for last! This salsa is DELISH! Very light, colorful, and flavorful- perfect for a summer get - together!

Ingredients:

- 3 ears of fresh, sweet corn

- 2 very firm avocados (so when you cut them they don't turn to mush)

- 1/2 cup of diced red onion

- 1 diced red bell pepper

- 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced

- a good handful of chopped cilantro

- juice from 1 whole lime

- a few good squirts of Light Italian Dressing

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Slice kernels off the corn and combine with all remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate before serving.

All three of these are oh, so delish! Do you have any family - favorite salsas? Please share them!

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4th of July Fun

I've been asking around for cute and simple 4th of July treats. I found so many online and many family members and friends emailed me their ideas. Below are 3 of my favorites- special thanks to everyone who sent me their recipes!

1) Fruit Pizza! Who doesn't love these? This is so festive and fun-- and a crowd pleaser!

Ingredients:
- 1 roll of sliceable, frozen sugar cookie dough
- blueberries and strawberries
- 8 ounce block of cream cheese
- 1/4 cup of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions: 
1) Slice the dough and push ends together to make the crust. Follow baking directions on the package.
2) While the dough is baking and cooling, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla for the icing.
3) When the crust has cooled, evenly spread the icing over the dough.
4) Place blueberries and strawberries to make a flag! (I cut the strawberries in half)

2) Red, White, and Blue Ice Cream Sandwiches! The only draw back I can see to this is that they will melt super fast, so you will almost have to make them as you are serving them. Still, these are super fun and easy! Just put a popsicle stick through the bottom of the sandwich. Sprinkle one side with red, the other side with blue, and the top with white sprinkles.

3) Double Dipped Strawberries! You can dip the strawberries in white chocolate first, but I actually dipped them in the left - over icing from the fruit pizza. I think the cream cheese/sugar/vanilla mixture tastes WAY better on the strawberries! Then just sprinkle the tip of the strawberries with blue sugar sprinkles. So fun and so yummy!

Do you have any festive recipes for this weekend? Please share them by posting a comment below! I hope these fun and simple ideas help you- Happy 4th of July!

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