Cheesecake filled Strawberries

Extremely easy dessert to make, and of course delicious, if you're a fan of cheesecake. I made these for my sisters 30th Birthday Party, they were in the fridge most of the party, yet somehow half were gone when I remembered about them. I guess these are popular on pinterest, a few guests asked if that is where I got the idea from..nope just googled easy desserts!

What you'll need..

box of fresh strawberries

graham crackers

8 oz. of cream cheese

3.5 tablespoons of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

So start by "pitting" the strawberries, I just cut the end in a circular motion with a little knife.

To make the filling you throw cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and whip, then I put it in a ziploc bag ( or if you're a baker you can use your piping bag )

Crush a few graham crackers..I used a glass to help

cut a small corner of the plastic bag and pipe away..

top with the crushed graham crackers..and that's it! Excuse the chipped nail polish, I have no time for anything now a days.. fyi the filling does get warm and soft, so put them in the fridge until you are about to serve them :)

BBQ Chipotle Wings

So I was on a crazy wings craving last friday, so I whipped these little guys up, and they were actually better than I expected. So here they are..

Ingredients
Pack of Wings - 2-2.5 lbs
1/3 cup of BBQ Sauce
3 Tbs. of Honey
1/4 Cup of Sliced Chipotles

I used Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce..because uhmm hello, The Sauce is the Boss! hah, but really use any type. I'm also lucky to have had this fresh honey we get shipped from Jalpa! and any canned chipotles will do. I used about half of that can..I like spicy :)

Combine ..

So bag your chicken, throw half of the sauce mixture and shake, making sure all the wings are covered.  Save the rest of the sauce for later..

Sadly..I don't have a grill at home, so I had to opt for baking them in the oven..ahem Daniel! I've been asking for one for over a month now. Okay so after about 20 minutes in the oven (375 degrees) I topped each wing with a spoonful of sauce and let them cook for another 20 minutes. I turned each one and let them cook for another 5-10 minutes.. and thats it!

..the aftermath, Daniel's plate :)

These were so good, I'll probably make them again for 4th of July, but this time I'll get to grill them outside at my parent's house. Hope everyone has a fun weekend!

Aguachiles

So I know I said I wouldn't post for a while..but here I am again..even though I have an exam today, and I should probably  be studying..but I have missed cooking & blogging, and trying new things at home..but my new schedule is hectic! I work full time, and go to class from 4-9 pm on Mondays & Wednesdays. So since it was Fathers Day this past weekend, I had a little bit of time to make something yummy. My older sister passed this one along to me, and since I love shrimp, lime, and spicy, this was perfect-o. This is a lot like my tilapia ceviche recipe, minus a few vegetables, and a lot spicier.

Tostada de Aguachiles!

Okay, start by squeezing your limes, I made three and a half pounds of large shrimp for Fathers Day, so that is why I used so much lime.

so about a cup of lime juice

my deveined & "butterflied" shrimp..I didn't think of taking a picture until now..but you cut the shrimp in half, so it will sort of look like a butterfly..

Blend lime juice, with 2 garlic cloves, 6-7 serrano peppers ( or less ) they are super spicy! If you're not a fan of spicy, you can use dry jalapenos.

pour lime mixture over your shrimp..cover and refrigerate.

after about 45 minutes my shrimp was almost done.. It is no longer greyish..but pink/orange

Mean while, I sliced very thin slices of red onion, and thin slices of cucumber. I mixed that in with salt and the shrimp for another 45 minutes or so..and finally, done :)

 Daniel still added more tapatio to his tostada, he is nuts, and before I forget you can also add slices of avocado to your tostada ;) 

French Toast

Quick post, because I need to delete these pictures from my phone. I foresee a very busy summer, and sadly I won't be blogging as much as I'd like :,,( unless summer school is a breeze, or if I'm not caught up on Mad Men, oh my gosh poor Lane :(, ugh I'm still bummed... 

So Friday night, I got this crazy craving for french toast, so I found this recipe, and figured I can give it a try Saturday morning. Considering I'm not a huge breakfast fan, I would give this french toast an 8 out of 10, yup it was pretty amazing.

you'll need..

flour

milk

sugar

vanilla extract

ground cinnamon

eggs

bread

salt

oil

syrup

..and powdered sugar (optional)

start with mixing flour, and milk..and whisk, until there are no lumps

add, your eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract, sugar

 mix

 your batter should look like this..

Now for the bread, obviously you can use any kind of bread, but I wanted thick-er bread than regular old sandwich bread, this was the best I got, considering I sent Daniel on an early morning grocery run, I'll take it..I guess..but really, I'm sure thicker is better , oh haaayy ;)

okay so you dip in your batter.. and fry in your heated vegetable oil, sift some powdered sugar over it and enjoy, thank me later :)

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fluffy-french-toast/

Honeydew Cucumber Poptail!

So summer is officially here in Texas, and I want to do nothing but eat ice cream and listen to Barbara Lewis, but since I was bored last night, and Daniel did not let me watch Gossip Girl, me and Ben decided to make these little guys; Honeydew, cucumber margarita Popsicles, don't worry guys we made virgin ones for him. 

: o

I got this idea from a website with different types of alcohol popsicles, I changed my recipe up a little bit, so I'll post the link of the website, but here is my version..

1 Whole honeydew

1 Whole cucumber

2 medium sized limes

3/4 cup of simple syrup

a shot of tequila or mezcal..or three..

Popsicle sticks

popsicle molds..or 3 - 5 oz cups

yes I am shamelessly promoting my uncles mezcal..because not only is it super good, uhmm who doesn't love Antonio Aguilar?

http://www.realdejalpa.com/home.html

cut up your fruit, obviously with skin removed

and blend.. I did it in two separate batches

after everything is blended add the lime juice. then the 3/4 cup of cool / room temp. simple syrup, real quick if you don't know how to make..( equal part sugar and water, boil, whisk..& done)

I used half of the mix for Benjamin's, the second half I added the tequila..I didn't specifically measure, but I guess this is up to how much alcohol you want to add.. but if you must know..this is how much mezcal I added..

so add the alcohol..I added more lime..and poured into the the molds or in my case..5 oz cups. Froze for about 1-2 hours..

after a few hours you can put in the sticks, and freeze overnight.

these little guys are sooo good and refreshing, that I had one as soon as I woke up, and about 3 more after..haha and this is when I get real mexi on you, I added some chili powder..haha 

http://www.endlesssimmer.com/featured/endless-poptails/

Teriyaki Pasta

okay, so I'd like to start off by saying that this pasta is NOT authentic asian cuisine..I wish it was, I don't really know what it is..its just delicious. This meal came about because Daniel and I were getting ready to leave to California, and I had random left over veggies and chicken that I didn't want to toss once I got back..you get the point, so I just came up with this randomly..and since then, it has become one of my favorites..so here it is!

You'll need..


Zuchinni
Brocolli
Mushrooms
Spinach
Tomatoes
Red Onion
4-5 Garlic Cloves
Teriyaki Sauce (see pic)
Chicken Breasts
Your Choice of Noodles
Crushed Red Pepper
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

I start by grilling my chicken, seasoned with a bit of salt & pepper, once done, set aside..and dice.

..Then I grab my wok spray vegetable oil spray, and throw in my diced brocolli, a pinch worth of diced garlic, and cook it, until its semi-soft..you dont want it to soft, but you don't want it to taste raw. 

Once I see its about where I want it to be..I throw in my zuchinni..and more garlic! I love garlic..

Once your zuchinni is done you can set it aside..and cook your mushrooms

and lastly..your diced red onion..once everything is cooked everything should be set aside. Meanwhile you can cook your pasta, I used egg noodles..whatever that means, does anyone know? But I've used spaghetti noodles, and its just as good!

grilled veggies

grilled chicken

this is where it alll comes together, once the pasta is cooked & drained, I grab my wok, turn on my burner at a medium heat level, add a teeny bit of Olive Oil, throw in as much pasta as you want per dish..I don't make a big batch of this..it would probably get really gross, and the pasta would get hard..and yea just not good. So I make it individually, and where was I? Okay grab a handful of pasta, a mix of your cooked veggies, some fresh spinach leaves, cooked chicken, more garlic, crushed red pepper, your diced tomatoes..and of course the teriyaki sauce..I eyeball it, but I would say about 2-3 tablespoons per individual dish..

Everything in wok!

 

.and mix it all together..you want everything to be coated with garlic, red pepper flakes, and the teriyaki

I mix each dish about 3-4 minutes..I like my pasta a little burned..and my tomatoes sauteed a little..but not to soft.

And that is it..my wanna be asian dish..haha.