Cravings: Red Velvet Crinkle Cookie

Excuse my absence from posting. I have been tied up with family, travel, and work. In the meantime, please enjoy this very easy cookie recipe as I try to catch up on all my missed posts. 

A good meal without dessert is like wearing a great dress barefoot.
Don't you think so? A meal is just not complete for me without it.

One of my favorite and easy dessert recipe is the Red Velvet Crinkle Cake cookie. This is so easy to make and I assure you that everyone will love it!

Ingredients:

1 box Duncan Hines red velvet cake mix
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled down
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Over a large bowl, sift cake mix. In the bowl, mix together the cake mix, eggs, butter and vanilla extract using a wooden spoon until all ingredients are well blended.

Divide the mixture into 24 pieces and roll each one into a ball. Sift together the powdered sugar and cornstarch. Roll the balls in the powdered sugar mixture until fully coated. Place the cookie balls on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are set and the cookies begin to crack. Note: Even if the cookies don't look completely done take them out of the oven after about 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.


Serve with a scoop (or two) of vanilla ice-cream or any flavored ice-cream of your choice.


Variation:
I have also tried the same recipe to make walnut chocolate crinkle cookies by substituting chocolate cake mix and mixing in chopped toasted walnuts.

Recipe adopted from Duncan Hines

Our First Holiday Menu from a Magazine

Aside from all the shopping, the Holidays also entail a lot of cooking. We hosted thanksgiving this year and I wanted to stay away from the traditional recipes to make our food experience more exciting. I am a digital subscriber of Better Homes and Gardens magazine and I always look at the recipes they feature. It all seems so easy to make and the ingredients are relatively easy to find in your local grocery stores. So, I decided to make their featured recipes in their November 2012 issue with a little modification to a couple of the ingredients.

For appetizers, the BHG menu had chutney cheese balls. Since we did last minute shopping, I could not, of course, find chutney. So I substituted the chutney with orange marmalade (we also used for glazing the turkey)  and the result was still amazing. I paired the cheese balls with Pita chips.

orange marmalade cheeseballs rolled in (1) pecans and apricots and (2) pistachio and parsley (recipe here)

I've never had beets before so I was a little iffy about doing this recipe. It turned out to be so good that this salad was actually one of my favorites. I had to modify the dressing since I forgot to get lemons. Instead of lemons I used Calamondin (also called Calamansi) which is a citrus fruit that has a richer flavor than lemons. I also added a little bit more of the pomegranate seeds than what the recipe called for  ;-)

Roasted Acorn Squash and Beet Salad (recipe here)

Hubby roasted the turkey and he did an amazing job. It was delicious and picture perfect! He used the same orange marmalade I used for the cheese balls to glaze the turkey.
Tip: since the marmalade glaze is made of sugar, be sure to check the turkey often after brushing it over to avoid the turkey skin from burning. Here's another first for us, parsnips. I never had parsnips before but I went ahead and followed the recipe with a substitution of pearl onions for the cipollini onions. This side was very healthy and tasted really good!

Marmalade Glazed Roast Turkey (recipe here) with Garlic Roasted Root Vegetables (recipe here)

This stuffing was a big hit with my dad-in-law. He said "It was like having a prize with every bite" and that "this recipe is a keeper". I agree, it is not your typical boring stuffing. The dried cherries, dried cranberries mmmmm yum!

Herbed Bread and Cherry Cranberry Stuffing (recipe here)

I am not a big fan of anything giblet so the gravy I made is a modified version. I used the drippings from the turkey with the stock from the recipe. It still turned out very good.

modified Homemade Gravy (original recipe here)

This one is my mom-in-law's favorite and the very first one I made since I can prepare it ahead of time.This is not your typical cranberry sauce. It is really, really good. I am planning on making it again for Christmas dinner. I made an extra bottle for my in-laws to take home with them.

New England Cranberry Orange Compote (recipe here)

Everyone loves mashed potatoes with their turkey so hubby was skeptical with this recipe. Until the last minute he was still convincing me to make mashed potatoes. Let's just say that after his first bite, he didn't miss the mashed potatoes LOL

Parmesan Potato Gratin (recipe here)

If you are not a fan of green beans, then wait til you try this one. The saltiness of the pancetta and the rich taste of browned butter with the crisp green beans will probably change your mind. This is a good side year round.

Green Beans with Pancetta with Brown Butter (recipe here)

I mentioned we had out nephews with us too who were 10 and 13 years old. These pop overs were their favorite - chives and all! I don't have a pop over pan so I used a regular pre-heated muffin pan instead. This is another keeper recipe. I figured after thanksgiving, I am investing in a pop over pan since I have been requested by our nephews to bake and bring "dozens and dozens of pop overs" to our family Christmas dinner at my in-laws home.

Cheese and Chives Popovers (recipe here)

What meal would be complete without desserts?
This pie recipe is to-die-for. The tartness of the apples and fresh cherries and fresh cranberries with the sweetness of the caramel- hmmm... need I say more?

Caramel Apple Cherry Pie (recipe here)

And finally, you got to have some pumpkin in the table. Right? Instead of making a pumpkin pie, I made pumpkin creme brulee. Anything creme brulee is my favorite. Anything that has to use the kitchen torch is my hubby's! Ha! Ha!

Pumpkin Spice Creme Brulee (recipe here)

And of course, would you settle for a dinner without a good drink? Of course not! This drink is sooooo refreshing. I am not exaggerating. I have the key ingredients stocked up in my refrigerator now. Btw, I omitted the star anise in our version since I do not like the way it tastes.

Mulled Cider and Pineapple Cocktail (recipe here)

So there you go. A whole run down of what I prepared for our thanksgiving dinner with the recipe straight from my trusted magazine pages. Fairly easy to make, the ingredients are easy to find and not expensive at all and best of all everything was delicious!

From our dining table to yours, I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving!

xoxo,
Tey

Trop 50 & Spa Giveaway

Like most people I know, I was not able to say no to all the goodies during the holidays. Of course the end result is a tip to the right on the scale =(.  I also do not like to exercise except for walking. That means, I have to make a conscious effort to watch what I eat and drink. I love fruit juices - apple, orange, lemonade but I also have to watch it because of the amount of sugar they contain.

Did you know that Tropicana^® Trop50^® has 50% less sugar and calories? The best part about it is that it has no artificial sweeteners! That means you can enjoy your favorite fruit juices at just 50 calories per eight-ounce glass. Trop50^® not only tastes great, it also helps you feel good. Each 8-ounce glass of Trop50^® squeezes in a full day’s supply of vitamin C and is also a good source of antioxidant vitamin E. If you are like me, I do not like artificial tasting juices - and Trop50^® did not sacrifice great taste by using all-natural stevia-based sweetener. I tried the Raspberry lemonade and it was delish!

 

Here's a mocktail recipe I tried that is easy, healthy and delicious:

LEMON BERRY MOJITO

1/2 cup Trop50 Lemonade (regular or raspberry)

1/4 cup fresh raspberries (or unsweetened frozen)

2 Tablespoons club soda

4 mint leaves

4 ice cubes

Put mint and ice into an 8-ounce glass. With a spoon, mash mint leaves and ice until mint is broken up into pieces. In blender puree lemonade with raspberries. Pour over mint/ice and top with club soda. Garnish with raspberries, lemons and/or mint leaves. Makes 3/4 cup (6 ounces). 1.5 ounces of rum optional

Nutrition Highlights: Each Trop50 mock-jito has 185 fewer calories and 75% less sugar than an original mojito. Our version also gives you 2 grams of fiber (thanks to fiber-rich raspberries) and 60% of your daily recommended vitamin C!

As a way of supporting healthy living, Tropicana^® Trop50^® is giving away one (1) lucky freeTEYme reader a $50.00 spa and wellness card from Spa Week! Yay!

All you need to do
(1)  Follow my blog (existing followers eligible and welcome) 
(2) "Like"  Topicana Trop50 on Facebook. (3) Must have a valid US address. 

Foodie: Outrageous Brownies ala Ina Garten

I'm a Food Network fan and, whenever I can on weekends, I make it a point to watch Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa.

photo from here

I just love how she makes entertaining look so easy. Her dishes look so yummy and presentation so simple yet elegant. I enjoy throwing parties and as I have mentioned in my profile - experimenting on dishes with my friends and family as my tasters (a.k.a guinea pigs).

So this weekend, I tried her Outrageous Brownies recipe. It was easy - not as easy as the boxed brownies of course - but still easy as long as you have all the required ingredients. The coffee in her recipe made a huge difference in bringing out more of that chocolate flavor. I used the silicon pans lined with wax paper and Pam's oil free baking spray with flour which made taking them out of the pans even easier. The result was pretty good! ;-)

Will I bake it again from scratch? Probably since I can control the amount of sugar I put in it =)

Here's the recipe taken from Food Network:

Outrageous Brownies
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 pound plus 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 6 extra-large eggs
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
• 2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 ¼ cups flour, divided
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cups diced walnut pieces

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Melt together the butter, chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and chocolate chips with flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean.

Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

Brownies anyone? Would you try something from scratch knowing you can buy them as ready to bake?

Happy Monday lovelies!