Caramel Frosting

I used this recipe for caramel frosting that my mom sent me to top some from-the-box chocolate cupcakes. Yum! The frosting is somewhat a mix between icing and frosting. Different and very good.

This Week's Menu

Tuesday 5/27:
* Chicken Parmesan
* Garlic Bread
* Steamed Broccoli

Wednesday 5/28:
* Chicken Enchiladas
* Black Beans

Thursday 5/29:
* Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
* Spinach Salad

Friday 5/30:
* Preschool Chicken
* Rice
* Steamed broccoli

Saturday 5/31:
* Pizza
* Salad

Sunday 6/1:
* Cafe Rio Pork Salads

Chocolate Cookies 'n' Cream Towers

When you see this picture that accompanied this recipe, you will want to make this dessert, too. A friend of mine saw the picture in an old copy of Food & Wine magazine and asked me to make this dessert. Well, I was just as enchanted by the picture so I followed the recipe exactly to see if this dessert tastes as good as it looks. Well, it does! I loved it, Matt loved it, my friends at girls night loved it. As you can tell from my picture, I lack in fine motor skills and need a little more practice piping cream out of pastry bags! But, my cookie towers tasted as good as the one in the picture looks. The best way to eat these is to just take the cookies apart. The chocolate pastry cream is delicious and when mixed with some of the whipped cream to make the light chocolate layer . . . oh man! It is to die for! That would make an excellent dessert in itself. Needless to say, Jack and I loved cleaning up after I made this dessert. He was thrilled with that sugary snack! Hopefully, I can improve some of my cooking skills and next time I make this dessert, my towers will be as pretty as the others!

This Week's Menu

Monday 5/12:
* Chicken, Rice, Tomato Dish
* Salad

Tuesday 5/13:
* Joelle's Chicken and Pasta
* Salad
* Garlic Bread

Wednesday 5/14:
* Mexican Lasagna
* Steamed Mixed Veggies

Thursday 5/15:
* Balsamic Chicken
* Mandarin Salad

Friday 5/16:
* Etiquette Dinner with 8-11 year old girls at church

Saturday 5/17:
* Chicken Stir Fry

Sunday 5/18:
* Country Captain Chicken
* Salad

Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa

Thank you Jenni, for sending me the recipe for Cafe Rio's Pork Barbacoa. I decided to take a stab at it this weekend and this is what I did:

3-5 lb Pork Roast
1 ½ cans Dr. Pepper (or Coke)
½ c. sugar
7oz can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1 tsp dry ground mustard
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp minced garlic

Remove the chilies (save for future use, you can freeze them) from adobo sauce. Blend Dr. Pepper, sugar, adbobo sauce (rinse the can with some of the dr. pepper to get as much sauce as possible), mustard, cumin, and garlic in a blender until well mixed. Place pork in crock pot and pour sauce over it. Cook for 4-6 on high or 7-9 hours on low. Carefully turn roast over halfway through. With about an hour left (when cooking on low) shred pork and let finish cooking in sauce.

The pork turned out delicious. I can't say that it was very much like Cafe Rio's but it was very sweet and tasty. I served the pork in salads with the lime rice and creamy cilantro dressing that I used for Cafe Rio Chicken Salads.

Sweet Mango Cafe

This weekend we tried a Jamaican restaurant in DC called Sweet Mango Cafe. Before we even got into the restaurant we could smell and see the smoke from all the meat being grilled. The Jerk Chicken was excellent--juicy and so spicy with a lot of extra sauce. I wouldn't really know if it tasted like "real" Jerk Chicken but Matt, who lived in Jamaica for two years, gave it his approval. The rice and peas were really good, too. I also happen to love the cabbage dish that is served as a side with Jamaican meals and Sweet Mango's was good but I have to say that the cabbage dish at Island Spice, the excellent Jamacian place in San Diego, is my favorite! I also missed the fried plantains that come with the meals at Island Spice meals so next time we go to Sweet Mango, I'll have to order some on the side. The food at Sweet Mango is also really reasonably priced--they are really generous with the portions. I ordered the large, white meat Jerk entree. It was $12 and fed me three times! If you want to try some great Jamaican food, or just want a unique dining experience, head to Sweet Mango Cafe, located directly across from the Georgia Avenue/Pentworth metro stop in NW DC. And, if you happen to be in San Diego, give Island Spice a try.

Pretty in Pink

Giada De Laurentiis' recipe for these cupcakes is amazing and so easy! The mascarpone cheese makes the cupcakes so moist and dense. The glaze is especially good after it soaks into the cupcakes a bit. I used a regular sized muffin pan. I don't think I drained my strawberries well enough because my glaze didn't get as pink as Giada's. Oh well, they were delicious!

You've got to love it!

Because I knew I wouldn't have much dinner-prep time yesterday, I put pizza and salad on the menu. I make pizza using Trader Joe's 99 cent pizza dough. It takes 7 minutes to cook, you can top it with whatever you like, and it is absolutely delicious! It takes about 5 minutes to roll out the dough and add the toppings. It's my go-to meal when I know I don't have a lot of time. Well, yesterday I was making a Costco run and the rotisserie chicken display lured me in. The chickens are currently $5.49, up from $4.99 just a few months ago. So instead of pizza and salad for dinner, we had chicken, just rotisserie chicken. Well, Matt and Jack shared an avocado, too. Not a well-balanced meal, I know, but very tasty and exactly zero minutes in prep time (which is what I had yesterday). I'm not sure what Costco puts in their chicken but it is so juicy and flavorful. I just used some more of the chicken for my filling for tonight's chicken enchiladas. They are bound to be tasty!

This Week's Menu

Monday 5/5:
* Chicken & Biscuit Casserole
* Salad

Tuesday 5/6:
* Pizza
* Spinach Salad

Wednesday 5/7:
* Chicken Enchiladas
* Black Beans
* Spinach Salad

Thursday 5/8:
* Slippery Shrimp
* Rice
* Steamed Broccoli

Friday 5/9:
* Cafe Rio Pork Salads

Saturday 5/10:
* Chicken Stir Fry
* Rice

Sunday 5/11:
* Turkey Loaf
* Sweet Potato Fries

Cinammon Rolls!

Molly Wizenberg (who I now know has an awesome cooking blog, Orangette) wrote an article in the March issue of Bon Appetit called "The Trouble With Yeast." Along with the article was a picture and recipe for Cinammon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze. I had to give them a try. I followed the recipe exactly. The only thing I had a hard time with was rolling up the dough tight enough. I don't think I pinched it enough as she instructs in the recipe. Because the rolls weren't rolled tightly, I lost some of the cinammon sugar filling as I transferred the cut rolls from the counter into the pan. I don't think that mattered in the end, though. I checked the rolls after 18 minutes of cooking and they were more than golden brown. I think I have a really hot oven. Anyway, next time I will probably check them at 15 minutes because they would have been better had I not left them in as long. But, the cinammon rolls were so yummy! The filling is great, the dough is moist, and the frosting is delicious. I will definitely be trying out more of Molly's recipes. Her blog is amazing. I'm especially in awe of her food photography, of which, as you can see, I have some learning to do!

Shrimp Scampi

Thank you Erin for sending me this recipe for Shrimp Scampi. Erin, one of my best friends from high school, got this recipe from her mom who got the recipe from Mariah's mom. Mariah is another best friend from high school. Oh, the recipe chain. I love it!

I love shrimp and this dish is really fast, easy, and satisfying. As Erin recommended, I served it with some sourdough bread to sop up the delicious sauce. Here's the recipe:

Shrimp Scampi
1/4 cup Olive Oil
6-7 cloves chopped Garlic
3-4 Tbs Melted Butter
20 Raw Shrimp (peeled and deveined)
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
Juice of 1 Lemon
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp Basil
1 Tbs Parsley
Cooked Angel Hair Pasta

Heat Oil in large pan over medium heat. Sautee garlic for 2-3 min. Add melted butter and shrimp to pan and sautee for 5 min. Sprinkle some cheese into pan at the end of 5 min. Add broth, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and cook for 1 min or until shrimp are done. Remove from heat, add parsley and basil. Stir. Spoon over cooked angel hair and serve with additional parmesan cheese.

Greek Tabbouleh Salad

My mom sent me a couple of boxes of Near East Taboule and I followed the directions on the back of the box to make this Greek Tabbouleh (I no idea why it's spelled taboule on the box) Salad. I added four sliced, grilled chicken breasts to the salad so it would work as a main dish at the potluck luncheon I went to. It was a good, healthy lunch. Wheat, vegetables, chicken--quite the nutritionally packed combination. I made this the night before and refrigerating it overnight seemed fine. I would probably double the lemon juice next time. I threw out the box but this is the recipe from their webiste (I've starred my changes):

GREEK TABOULE SALAD
1 package (5.25-ounce) NEAR EAST Taboule Wheat Salad Mix
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1 large tomato, chopped

1 cucumber, chopped*

4 grilled chicken breasts, sliced*
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Romaine lettuce leaves (for serving)
Lemon wedges (for serving)

In large bowl, combine wheat salad mix and contents of Spice Sack. Stir in 1 cup boiling water and oil. Let stand 30 minutes. Stir cheese, tomato, cucumber, chicken, basil and lemon juice into wheat mixture. Cover; chill 2 hours before serving. Serve with freshly ground black pepper, if desired.