#279_A Cake with a Heart in Every Slice

Here's a cake with a HEART to share with everyone.

a heart in every slice...

For the cake, I used the Chiffon Cake recipe #210
http://pinoyamericanrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/12/207chiffon-cake.html

For the inside heart, I used boxed red velvet cake mix,
then filled each cake layer with raspberry jam.

The red hearts are made of candy melts,
melted then formed into heart shapes.
For frosting, I used the old-fashioned Buttercream Frosting
which is powdered sugar+butter+milk,
then garnished with some sweet coconut flakes.

I made this cake especially for my friends Fidel and Lisa
for their 22nd Wedding Anniversary.

I saw this cake from our local tv show, Studio 5 on KSL where the baker
showed how she assembled the cake.
Here's the link>>>>
http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=71&sid=14177038

#278_Trisha Yearwood's Cheese Dip

Trisha Yearwood's Cheese Dip

I chanced upon this yummy dip recipe while browsing the net
and made it for the first time for the Super Sunday dinner
and oh, my golly it is so yummy.
I have to warn everybody though that this dip is deadly,
because it is super loaded with cholesterol and fat!!

Here's the recipe:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
5 sprigs green onions, finely chopped (including the white part)
1 tbsp. diced green chilies (canned)
8 pieces crackers, crushed
1 tbsp melted butter
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350F.
2) In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, diced green chilies and green onions.
3) Transfer mixture to a baking dish (I used two 6-1/2" baking dishes)
4) Mix the crushed crackers with the melted butter and spread on the dip.
5) Bake dip for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
5) Remove the pan from the oven and top with bacon.
6) Serve warm with corn chips.

Pat mixture onto a baking dish

crush some crackers and mix with melted butter for topping.

Top with cooked and crumbled bacon and sliced green onions.

Don't forget your corn chips!

#277_A Cake for Aurionna

#276_Ramen Noodles/Pancit Ramen

This is not just Ramen Noodles...... it's gourmet Ramen noodles!

That's right! you can turn this regular 10-cents-a-pack noodles
into a not-so-boring-to-eat noodles.
And the best part of this is that you can
make this dish in under 30 minutes.

My secret of quick cooking is using rotisserie chicken from Costco and frozen veggies. I always make sure I have some frozen veggies such as the one pictured above or stir fry veggies. This will eliminate chopping or slicing different kinds of veggies, but as I mentioned in one of my posts, nothing's better than fresh vegetables. If you have plenty of time and don't mind peeling, slicing and chopping vegetables, that's better. If pressed with time though, frozen veggies and store-bought cooked chicken will be your best friends.

This recipe takes the same procedure as making most kinds of pancit (noodles) such as pancit canton or pancit bihon. The main difference is that the ingredients here do not use liquid to cook in except the liquid from the patis or soy sauce.

The ingredients below are just approximate as I just eye ball everything when I make this.The only accurate thing here is the 5 packages of noodles. You can't go wrong with this dish. This is one of those simple and super easy dishes to make. BTW, I picked up this idea of cooking Ramen Noodles this way from a dear friend of mine, Aida who is a very creative cook herself.

Here's the recipe:
5 packages of Chicken flavor Ramen noodles
Canola oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked chicken
1/2 a head of cabbage, sliced
2 medium size carrots, julienned
Green beans, cut french style
Patis (fish sauce) or soy sauce

Procedure:
1) Heat some canola oil in a wok or large saute pan and saute the garlic until fragrant.
2) Stir in onions and continue to saute until onions are limp.
3) Stir in the cooked chicken, saute for a few minutes then add in the vegetables.
4) Add some soy sauce or patis (fish sauce). Continue to saute until the vegetables are halfway done then stir in the blanched noodles.
5) Stir until everything is well blended together.

How to blanch the noodles:

Bring about 2 cups of water to a boil with 2 envelopes of bouillon powder which is included in the noodle package. Drop the noodles in the boiling broth. As soon as the noodles become soft take them out with a slotted spoon and stir them in with the vegetable/meat stir fry.

Ramen noodles with chicken.

Ramen Noodles with Shrimps.

ENJOY!!

Note from MaMely:
I used some anatto oil (achuete) in the stir fry. To make anatto oil, click here.

#275_Sally's Prize-Winning White Beans Chicken Chili

Updated: 2-7-11

White Beans Chicken Chili
in a crock pot.

This fantastic Chili recipe was given to me by my

step daughter, Sally which is her prize-winning recipe.
Her husband's family back in Missouri have Chili Cook Offs annually
where Sally entered this recipe one year and garnered 1st prize.
Congratulations, Sally and thank you for sharing it with me.

I made this again yesterday and everybody liked it,
including the ones who said didn't care for beans.
It is really that delish!!

Here's the recipe with a little bit of modification on the procedure:

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, cubed
1 small onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
salt to taste

4 cans White Northern Beans
16 oz. sour cream (reduced fat)
16 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 can Rotel tomatoes ( comes in original, mild or hot)
1 can cream of chicken soup
3-4 cups chicken broth (updated)

1) Prepare the chicken:

In a dutch oven or saute pan, heat some canola oil over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion until garlic turns fragrant (not brown) then stir in the cubed chicken. Continue to saute until the chicken renders its own fat, or until the chicken pieces are no longer pink. This will take about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt.
2) Cook in Crock Pot:
Transfer the sauteed chicken into a slow cooker pot or crock pot and stir in the rest of the ingredients (save some of the Monterey Jack cheese for garnish). Put lid on and cook on "medium" heat for about 6-8 hours stirring occasionally. Add in more chicken broth if necessary.

3)To serve:
Spoon soup in individual bowls and top with one of these: (optional)

Grated Montery Jack cheese
Guacamole
Cooked chopped bacon
Sliced green onions
Or whatever you like.

ENJOY!!

Note from MaMely:
Here's another way to prepare the chicken:
Put the cubed chicken in a pot and cover with water. Cook over medium high heat skimming off fat. When there are no more scums in the broth, transfer the chicken in the crock pot, then pour in the broth through a sieve, so you'll have a clear broth. This way you don't need to use the canned broth.

#274_Garlic Butter & Garlic Bread

How to make your own Garlic Butter

Home made Garlic Butter

Ingredients for Garlic Butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
5 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 tsp dried parsley
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mix all ingredients until well blended and smooth then
store in the fridge in plastic containers until ready to use.



Microplane makes it so easy to achieve perfect finely grated garlic
to use in the garlic butter mixture

To make Garlic Bread:
Slice up some French bread, spread some Garlic Butter
on both sides of of bread,
arrange them on an aluminum or parchment paper lined cookie sheet
and bake in a pre heated 375 degrees oven
until they turn light brown and butter is melted, approximately 5 minutes.