Margarita's and Leftovers

Margarita's are the only cocktail I ever crave. I craved them during both of my pregnancies and my first "adult" drink after giving birth was a margarita (actually, I should say 2nd because Mimosa's were served in the hospital minutes after both kids arrived). If you know the Colbert family and have been lucky enough to be invited to a margarita and dip party at their house, you know their margarita is fantastic. The margarita I make is a close second. I got this recipe from my Pampered Chef days.





Margarita's
1 Can Frozen Limeade
1 Cup Tequila
3 Cans Sprite
1 Pacifico

The Pampered Chef recipe calls for 1 Corona, but I have started using Pacifico because I think that it tastes better. I "build" this margarita by first adding the limeade and tequila and stirring them together. Then, I add the cans of Sprite and stir. Lastly, add the Pacifico and stir. Adding the beer last keeps it from foaming up while stirring in the other ingredients.

Last night we had Margarita's and Jucy Lucy's. Num. Num. This morning Jon (who is AWESOME at eating leftovers) made himself a Jucy Lucy Breakfast Sandwich.



That's a 1/4 pound Jucy Lucy burger, topped with a scrambled egg, more cheese, jalapeno's and ketchup.


We get creative with our leftovers here in the Fuller house! :-)

Jucy Lucy & Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

Jon and I were watching Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel last week and the host, Adam, was in Minneapolis (you can catch this episode again on Tuesday, Mar. 30th @ 8:30PM). Adam visited Matt's Bar to try one of their famous Jucy Lucy Burgers. Jon was disappointed with me because I never took him to try one of these hamburgers for himself... I'm a bad Minnesotan! So I promised him I would make him a Jucy Lucy.

Makings of a great flavored hamburger.


Beef mixture.



Beef balls.


Patties.


I love cheese.


Jucy Lucy.


Jucy Lucy - Fuller Family Style



1 lb. Ground Beef
½ tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon Sriracha
1 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning
1 teaspoon McCormick Grill Mates - Hamburger
1 egg
8 Saltine Crackers, crushed
Block of cheese, pick your flavor

With your hands, thoroughly combine beef, Worcestershire, Sriracha, Tony’s seasoning, McCormick seasoning, egg and crushed Saltines. If the meat starts to warm up (from your hands) put it back in the fridge, you need to keep it chilled.

Measure out 6 balls of beef mixture. To keep the beef from sticking to your hands, wet them with cold water.

Flatten balls into a thin patties on top of wax paper, about ¼” high and roughly 5” in diameter.

Cut 9-1 inch cubes of cheese from block.

Place 3 pieces of cheese on the center of 3 patties.

On to each cheese-topped patty, flip a second patty to cover the cheese. Crimp the edges tightly so that the cheese will not blow out of the hamburger. Re-cover with wax paper and refrigerate at least 10 minutes.

Preheat a heavy-bottomed pan to medium heat or cook them on your outdoor grill. Note: The burger may puff up due to steam from melting cheese while cooking and this is normal.

Allow burger to cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until desired temperature is reached. When you flip the burger use a toothpick to prick the top of the burger so the steam can escape.

You MUST let the burger cool before eating. The cheese will be very hot and you will burn your mouth if you bite into it right away.

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

4 sweet potato’s, (about 2 lbs.)
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Cooking Spray
salt and pepper for seasoning, optional

Preheat oven to 500°.

Cut washed potato’s into 1 inch wedges.

Place wedges in a bowl and cover with olive oil. Add cumin, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes and toss until evenly coated.

Place wedges in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. For a crispier fry, space wedges an inch apart. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (optional).

Bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes. Turn wedges over. Bake an additional 10 minutes, or until crispy on the outside and tender in the middle.

Also served with sauteed zucchini and squash. Delish!

On Tuesday, Mar. 30th @ 9PM, we'll be tuning in to watch Food Wars' - Minneapolis Ju(i)cy Lucy War where Matt's Bar and the 5-8 Club will compete to see which restaurant has the best Lucy! I'm routing for Matt's!

Red Velvet Cake Whoopie Pies

My Red Velvet Cake craving is OUT.OF.CONTROL! All I want to make and eat is THIS...


Since I can not eat Red Velvet Cheesecake for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday, I was really hoping I would LOVE Yoplaits new yogurt with Red Velvet Cake flavoring...

Well, I did NOT love the yogurt. My Red Velvet Cake craving was not satisfied.

Then, I heard about this place called Yogurtland and that they were featuring a Red Velvet Cupcake Batter flavored frozen yogurt. Luckily we have a Yogurtland here in DFW and it's only 30 miles from our house. Yes, I said 30 miles. When Jon got home from work on the day I heard of Yogurtland and their Red Velvet Cupcake Batter frozen yogurt, we piled the family into the car and set off to try this frozen yogurt. When we got to the shop, I stood along the wall scanning all the flavors and did not see Red Velvet... Jon asked the lovely young lady behind the counter where the Red Velvet was... She said they SOLD OUT of it in 3 days! Did I mention Yogurtland was 30 miles away? Ugh! Again, I was left hanging. We did get some yogurt though and what we had was good.

So, I decided to make these...


For the most part, I followed Paul Deen's Recipe for the Pie's. I made them a lot smaller then Paula did and I did not use the nuts. The cream cheese filling recipe I used is from Martha Stewart.

These were OK... I will make them again when I actually have a working oven in my own home. (right now I have to cross the yard to Jon's parents house and use theirs) I would like to keep a closer eye on them because some baked up nice and cake-like and some went flat and gooey... They did taste good though (not great).

Dry Ingredients and my new sifter.



Butter, Sugar, Eggs (1 @ a time).



Liquids.


Mix together slowly.


I put all the batter in a gallon sized freezer bag so I could make the cookies a nice circle shape. I would have used a small scoop if I had one...



Jon gave them his thumbs up of approval! (He is eating the ONE perfect cookie I had set aside to take a picture of... I knew I should have told him not to eat the cookie on the counter!)


Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Pie Cakes
1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon red food coloring

Cream Cheese Filing (makes about 2 cups)
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time. Then beat in the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and red food coloring. Once combined, add the dry ingredients to wet. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Onto a parchment lined sheet tray, drop batter using an ice cream scoop, forming 2-inch round circles.

Bake for 10 minutes, until baked through. Cookies should be cake-like and light. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the cream cheese filing:

Place cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, soften cream cheese. Gradually add butter, and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Sift in confectioners’ sugar, and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla, and stir to combine. Spread onto one cookie and top it with another to make a sandwich; repeat with the remaining cookies and filling. Cover the filled whoopee pies with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

Final thought: My craving is still in full effect. I think I will have to make myself a cheesecake. (and by "myself" I mean I'm not sharing!)

Somewhat Healthy Fruity Julius

"Somewhat healthy" because there is a mad amount of sugar in this! But, there is also a huge helping of spinach and fruit. So "somewhat healthy" works as a nice title.

I have been wanting to share this Julius recipe with you for a while, but every time I make them the kitchen is a mess and I can't take pictures. So when I made these this morning I decided I no longer cared it you all saw my dirty dishes. Just try not to look too closely!

There definitely is a healthier way to make a spinach smoothie, but I prefer starting out with an Orange Julius type recipe.


Somewhat Healthy Fruity Julius

1 12oz can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 can water
1 can milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
3 cups spinach, divided
4 cups frozen fruit (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combo), divided

In a blender combined orange juice concentrate, water, milk, vanilla and egg. Blend until well combined.


Pour half of the orange mixture into a large glass and set aside.


To the remaining orange mixture add 1½ cups spinach. Blend until combined. Add 1½ cups frozen fruit of choice. Blend until well combined and desired consistency is reached.


You may want to add ice cubes or more frozen fruit if Julius is runnier than you would like.


Pour into glasses for serving.


Repeat steps with remaining half of orange mixture.

Makes 4-8 smoothies.

Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry

I think it's pretty funny that Jon sometimes rates new recipes I make by how much you would potentially pay for them at a restaurant. This recipe was given a $12.50.

I have to say I am really enjoying trying to cook the things I usually buy frozen at the grocery store or order at restaurants. Everything tastes SO much better home-made fresh and I really like identifying the spice to the flavor. Cooking is getting funner and funner :-)

Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry



3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
1½ teaspoon Asian chili-garlic paste (such as Sriracha)
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon sesame seed oil
2 large sweet red peppers, seeded and chopped (I had one red and one green, but the next time I make it I will use 2 red.)
1 cup baby carrots, cut diagonally into thirds
4 oz. snow peas, trimmed and halved diagonally
6 cups leaf spinach, stem removed
8 ounces soba noodles, prepared according to package directions

In a small bowl mix soy sauce, brown sugar, chili-garlic paste, ginger and cornstarch. Set aside. (I added a couple dashes of crushed red pepper as well!)

Cut chicken breast into cubes. (Optional, but suggested - season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a dash of ground ginger.)

Heat oils in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet and cook for about 8 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Add red peppers, carrots, snow peas and 3 tablespoons water to skillet and cover; cook 6 minutes or until tender. Add spinach and cover; cook 1 minute. Stir in soy sauce mixture; cook 2 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Stir in chicken; serve with noodles.

Makes 4 servings.

I adapted this recipe from a tofu-veggie version in Family Circle magazine's February 2010 issue (on page 178 to be exact). If you would like to try the Veggie version do this:

Swap chicken for 1 block (14 oz) firm tofu.

Instead of 1 tablespoon cornstarch, measure out a ½ cup. (Still use 1 tablespoon when making soy sauce mixture)

Drain and cut tofu into 1-inch cubes.

Pat tofu dry. Place remaining 7 tablespoons cornstarch in a pie plate; coat tofu on all sides.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu to skillet in 2 batches; cook each 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from skillet.

Add veggies and continue cooking as directed above.

Making Whoopie...

...Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies that is.

The cookie part of this pie turned out awesome! A good way to test the awesomeness is to let your almost 2 year old son try it. When he say's "cookies good" you know you've done good!

I was not impressed with the filling part of the pie. I thought it sounded nummy, made with honey and all... But, not so much. I would make these again, but I will change the filling. Probably use Confectioners Sugar!

Dry ingredients (not including sugars).

Mmmmm Butter!

Carrots.

Chilled batter.

Baked. (My cookies are over baked. These cookies bake FAST so watch them closely!)

Not so great filling. (maybe it's my bargain buy Wal*Mart Cream Cheese?... What can I say, we're poor.)

Leaning Tower of Whoopie!


Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
½ cup raisin’s (optional)
½ cup oatmeal (optional)
8 ounces cream cheese
¼ cup honey

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 2 baking sheets.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots and raisins at low speed, then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Chill dough in freezer for 15 minutes.

Drop 1 tablespoon batter per cookie 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total.

Cool cookies on sheets on racks 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

While cookies are baking, blend cream cheese and honey in a food processor until smooth.

Sandwich flat sides of cookies together with a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling in between. These are good the first night, but if you store in an airtight container, they get amazingly moist and whoopie pie like on the second night.

Makes 13 Whoopie Pies.

I found this recipe on Abby Goes Design Scouting. I modified her recipe to include Oatmeal and I omitted the raisin's. Why? Because after tasting the batter I thought oatmeal would make it nummier and I prefer my raisin's by themselves. 'Nuf said.

Crispy Chicken Jalapeno Popper Dinner

I made something for dinner this week that I have never made before. While eating it Jon said "I would pay at least $15.00 for this at a restaurant." Later, he posted this on Facebook "Just ate dinner... Had breaded chicken and cheddar jalapeno potatoes. One of the best things I have ever eaten! It tasted like a crispy chicken jalapeno popper! Eat this before you die! Thank you Deanna. I love you."

Since what I made doesn't have an official title, we'll just call it the Crispy Chicken Jalapeno Popper Dinner!

I got my inspiration to make this meal from Siriously Delicious's recipe for Rosemary Pan Fried Chicken and Wasabi Mashed Cauliflower. I have never fried chicken before, so this was a big step for me!

I knew Jon would NOT go for the mashed cauliflower (even though I think it sounds awesome and will make this for myself as soon as I can find some Wasabi Paste). Also, he doesn't like the Rosemary & Olive Oil Triscuits Siri used in her recipe. So, that is why I say her recipe inspired me to make my own version of this meal.

Crispy Pan Fried Chicken

4-5 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 a bag of Triscuit Baked Whole Grain Wheat Thin Crisps, crushed
2 cups flour
2 egg whites
crushed red pepper
salt and pepper
Olive Oil (I used Extra Light Olive Oil)

Flatten out chicken breasts with a meat tenderizer. (The chicken breasts I used were already flat, so I didn't tenderize them...) Season with salt and pepper.

Crush Triscuit crackers. (I smashed mine in a Zip-Loc baggy with the backside of an ice cream scoop.) Put cracker crumbs in a shallow bowl. Season with salt and pepper. For more of a kick, I also added a couple shakes of crushed red pepper.

Put flour in a separate shallow bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Put egg whites in a separate shallow bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a pan over high heat. Careful not to burn - throw a drop of water in the pan and when oil sizzles, you're ready to go.

Take one chicken breast, coat in flour, then egg whites, then cracker mixture. Place in pan. Fit as many chicken breasts as you can in the pan. Fry chicken for a few minutes on each side, or until both sides are golden brown.

My chicken's still need to fry longer, but you get the idea. Also, I could have coated them better and will do so next time.


Jalapeno Cheddar Mashed Potatoes (FYI - I whipped these up myself without following a recipe, so this is my best guess at measurement amounts. Please use your own judgment based on what your personal tastes are!)

2 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced
2 whole jalapenos
1 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 cup butter
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Place potatoes in a large pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are tender, about a half hour.

Finely dice up jalapenos. I left the seeds and membranes in, but you could remove them.

Drain potatoes. Whip or mash them, adding the jalapenos, sour cream and butter. Finally add the cheddar cheese.

Serve with an extra dollop of sour cream on top!

(If you need a recipe to follow, I think this looks like a good one!)

Silly me, I didn't get any pictures of the potatoes or plated dinner... SORRY!

We also had corn (whole kernel, from the can) as a side. Awhile ago I saw a recipe for Fried Corn with Bacon that I really wanted to make, but I didn't bookmark the page with the recipe and couldn't find it again...


For me, this meal was all about the chicken. The Triscuit coating stays really crunchy and is super nummy! I'll make this often with a bunch of different sides :-)

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

My little helper :-)


This is the second time I've made these muffins in the past week and a half! I've been craving chocolate a lot lately and these are a great fix. I found the recipe on www.epicurious.com and after reading through the reviews I modified their recipe to include a full teaspoon of vanilla and two eggs.

Dry ingredients (do not include the sugar).


All ready to mix...


Mixed.


The good stuff! Who knew Zucchini and Chocolate could be so great together? Props to whoever came up with this combo :-) LOVE!


Finished!


Sawyer said "Muffins good. Thanks much!" He ate two. Proof that these are great!



Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoon sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ pound zucchini, coarsely grated, about 1 cup
1 (6-ounces) package semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Beat together sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer until thick and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just incorporated.

Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips.

Divide among lined muffin cups and bake until tops spring back when lightly pressed, 30 to 35 minutes.

Cool in pan 5 minutes, then turn out to cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

To continue with the awesomeness of 20-10 blogging and catch y'all up with what's been happening with the Northern Fuller Family I decided to bake myself motivated! A new blog I've started following, Siriously Delicious, posted the recipe for these cookies and I just had to bake them! Seriously :)

BANANA's


Important Step - Once you have all these ingredients in the bowl, lean over and take a big whiff of it all... So great!


Ready to mix it up.


Mini-Chips.


Viola~Scrumptious!



Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 ripe banana’s
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
sugar & cinnamon for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mash ripe banana’s. Add butter, peanut butter, both sugars, egg and vanilla. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Slowly add flour mixture to banana mixture until combined.

Add chocolate chips.

Drop dough by large spoonful onto a greased baking sheet.

Sprinkle unbaked cookies with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.


To see Siri's cookies, go here.