Jelly Bean Margarita

 

Ingredients

½ cup of jelly beans. (flavor does not matter.)

3oz lemon-lime soda

1 oz of tequila

.25 oz of lime juice

1.5 oz of triple sec.

Lime wedge for garnish

1 jelly bean for garnish

Directions

Soak jelly beans in lemon-lime soda for 5 minutes. In a shaker with ice, pour in the jelly bean/lemon-lime soda mix, lime juice, tequila and triple sec. Shake and pour into glass. Garnish with lime wedge on rim of glass and jelly bean at the bottom of the glass.

DEVILED EGGS

Our Easter Traditional Dish

DEVILED EGGS

For Easter, we love taking the boiled eggs that have been dyed and colored by the kids and turning them into our favorite recipe “Deviled Eggs.” We love Deviled eggs but sometimes the regular deviled eggs during Easter can get boring. So we came up with four delicious ways to add a little spice to our original recipe.

Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

6 hard boiled eggs

2 cups of Miracle Whip or Mayo

1 tsp garlic powder

Paprika for dusting.

½ tsp of salt and pepper

Directions

Cut the eggs in half length wise. Remove the yolks from the eggs and place them in a bowl. With a potato masher, mash the eggs yolks. In the bowl with the egg yolks add the Miracle whip/Mayo, ham, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix the all the ingredients together. With a plastic bag with a hole in a corner or in a piping bag, fill all 12 halves with the filling. Dust the filled halves with the Paprika.

To jazz up this recipe here are some options.

1. Chipotle deviled Eggs

· In place of 2 cups of miracle whip you can do 1 cup of Miracle Whip and 1 cup of Chipotle Mayo.

2. Ham or Turkey Deviled Eggs

· You can add diced ham or Turkey to the mix.

3. Spicy Deviled Eggs

· To spice this up we dust with Cayenne pepper and add diced jalapeños.

4. Cheesy deviled eggs.

· We add liquid cheese to the mix and then dust with paprika and finely shredded cheese.

Sweet Tea Cupcakes

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large egg whites

1 egg yolk

3/4 cup milk

¾ cup unsweetened tea

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt.  In a separate bowl, combine egg whites, milk, tea and vanilla extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to butter mixture then add half the milk/tea mixture. Continue to alternate beginning and ending with flour mixture. Scrape bowl and beat often. Spoon batter into cup cake liners until they are 2/3 of the way full. Bake cupcakes about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean. Cool in pan on a rack.

Chocolate Irish Cream Cupcakes

Ingredients

 

Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup Bailey's Irish Cream

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

 

Filling

3 tbsp of butter

1/2 cup Bailey’s Irish cream

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

¼ tsp of vanilla extract

 

Directions

 

Filling

In a bowl, cream butter with a mixer. Then add half the confectioner’s sugar and the Irish cream and blend with the butter until smooth and creamy. Add rest of powdered sugar and vanilla extract and blend until smooth.

 

Cupcakes

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla and Irish cream. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Mint Lime Punch

Mint Lime Punch

Ingredients 15 fresh mint leaves 4 lime slices ½ cup lime juice 2 cups sugar or to taste 1 cup sprite ½ cup ginger ale 1/2 cup club soda Directions Place mint leaves sturdy glass. Use a muddler to crush the mint to release the mint oils. In a 2 quart pitcher, add sprite, sugar, ginger ale, and club soda. Mix until combined. Next pour the lime juice in with the mint and stir. Pour mint lime mixture into pitcher and stir until combined. Drop in the lime slices. Serve over ice.

CWP Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken

 

Ingredients

10-15 whole chicken wings

3 cups of flour

2 tsp of black pepper

¾ cup seasoning salt

3 tbsp Garlic powder

3 tbsp of garlic salt

2 eggs

1 cup of milk

2tsp of hot sauce

1tbsp of lemon juice

¼ cup of bread crumbs

¼ cup of Balsamic vinegar

Hardware

2 large bowls

Cookie sheet covered in foil

Large cutting board.

Directions

Put the chicken, the lemon juice, the vinegar, the hot sauce, and 1 tbsp of garlic into a large freezer storage bag. Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes in the bag. While the chicken is marinating, mix the flour, the rest of the garlic powder, seasoning salt, garlic salt, the bread crumbs and the black pepper in a large bowl. In another bowl mix the eggs and the milk. When the chicken is done marinating, dip each piece into the flour mixture. Make sure each piece is covered in flour. After that dip each piece into the egg mixture. Make sure each piece is completely covered. Next the chicken goes back into the flour. When that process is done let the chicken hang out on the cutting board. This will help the flour and the egg to set on the chicken and not fall off in the deep fryer. In this time, heat the deep fryer to the chicken setting or 250 degrees F. When the grease is hot and ready, fry the chicken for 10 minutes, 5 pieces at a time. After frying, use the cookie sheet and bake the chicken in the oven on 350 degrees F for 10 more minutes.

Let sit for 2 minutes and serve.

Christmas Cookies

I love the Christmas season. It is that time of the year where people give back to the less fortunate and shower their loved ones with gifts and affection.

I love to buy things for my family and see their faces when they open each and every gift.

Yes, I love this holiday. Yet there is one thing that I love the most. I love desserts and treats.

Thanksgiving is the time where perfect my side dishes and come up with new side dish recipes, but for Christmas… Christmas is the time when I break out the flour, eggs and sugar and get cracking on all sorts of Christmas goodies.

 I get to experiment with all types of flavors and ideas. Chocolate always makes an appearance but I don't stop there. Sometimes I get tropical by adding bananas, pineapples and mangoes to everything from cheesecake, cookies and cupcakes.

There is no stopping the limits to the goodies that I can produce. My favorite and my traditional treat are Christmas cookies. Everyone loves a good Christmas cookie so I spent all year perfecting new recipes discovering new flavors that can go together to make incredible cookies.

Last year I discovered that I love the taste of chocolate and cherries together. Not that it was a new experience, but I had not had a really good cookie that combined the two extremely well. That is until I discovered the delicious flavor that can be when you mix white chocolate and cherries. So I came up with an incredible cookie that I will love to share with you.

 

Here is my favorite cookie recipe.

 

 

White Chocolate Cherry Cookies  

Ingredients

1 cup or 2 sticks of softened butter   

1 cup of packed brown sugar             

1 cup of granulated sugar                     

2 large eggs                                                

1 teaspoon of vanilla                              

3  cups all purpose flour                            

1 teaspoon of baking soda                  

½ teaspoon of salt                                       

¾ cup of dried cherries   

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and beat until just combined.  Set aside. Sift together flour soda and salt. Add milk to the butter mixture and then add the flour mixture in thirds. Fold in white Chocolate and dried cherries. Do not over mix. Drop 1 inch balls on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool.

 

Red Velvet Cake

Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients

2 sticks butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 ounces red food coloring

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

Pinch salt

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar, until light and fluffy in a bowl. Mix in food coloring and cocoa powdered paste to the creamed butter. In a bowl, whisk together eggs with buttermilk and add to batter. Mix in vinegar and vanilla, and then add flour and baking soda in by thirds gradually. Mix until combined but do not over mix.

Butter two round cake pans. Pour half of the batter into each and smooth the top to even the batter out. Bake cake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan.

When cakes are cooled, top bottom layer with whatever frosting you like.  Top the top layer with frosting and serve.

Cherry Cordial Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 can of Cherry Pie filling.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Cut a hole in the cupcakes. Be sure to keep the tops.  Fill each cupcake with some of the cherry pie filling.  Put the tops back onto the cupcakes.

Frost with your favorite frosting when cool.

Tips for a Stress Free Holiday

If your family is anything like my family, there can be lots of stress surrounding the holidays. It can make you so stressed and so overwhelmed with the amount of work you have to do that sometimes you just don't do any of it. Trust me I feel your pain. I too have suffered from the stress. But I've come up with a few ways to get rid of some extra stress. Here are some of my tips to help make things a little easier.

1.) Delegate, Delegate, Delegate!

– To try to do everything yourself. If you have friends children or that has been around give them some of the test to do delegate the work to them. That will take the wraps off of your to do list and give you time to breathe.

 

2.) Make lists!

– It lessens the stress of the list everything out. Grocery lists chore lists can make things easier. Plus you feel better checking things off the list.

 

3.) Prepping is key!

– When he comes to that special dinner everything ahead of time planning make Mac & cheese today of? Prep all of your ingredients before the night before. It will save you time and headache the next day.

 

4.) The store always helps!

– Don't be afraid to take help from the store. You can buy things that are already prepped.  Shorten your prep time for your holiday cooking by utilizing this tip. 

 

5.) Take time to focus!

– Lastly, take 10 minutes each day to just and do nothing. It helps to clear your mind and get you focused and prepared to check the list.

Cheesy Roast Beef Monte Cristo

Ingredients

12 slices of Roast Beef

4 slices of bread (wheat or white)

6 slices of American Cheese

2 eggs

1 tsp parsley flakes

¼ cup of shredded cheese

1 tbsp of butter for frying.

Directions

On 1 slice of bread place 1 slice of American cheese. Cover with 3 slices of roast beef.  On top of the roast beef place another slice of American cheese. Place 3 more slices of roast beef and another slice of cheese. Cover with another piece of bread.  Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients and create another sandwich.   Set both sandwiches to the side. 

Butter a skillet and place it on medium heat.

In a bowl beat together the eggs, the shredded cheese and the parsley.  Dunk the sandwiches into the egg mixture until both sides of sandwiches are coated in the egg mixture.  Cook the sandwiches until the egg looks cooked through and the cheese is melted.

Slice on a plate and serve.

Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

16oz package of fine egg noodles

3 chicken thighs

½ cup of sliced onions

½ cup sliced bell pepper

2 32 oz boxes of chicken broth

2 tsp of black pepper

½ cup seasoning salt

Juice from 1 lemon

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp of red pepper flakes

½ cup of red wine vinegar

1 tsp hot sauce

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp dried basil (can use fresh basil)

2 tsp dried parsley flakes (can use fresh parsley)

Step 1: Preheat a skillet with oil for frying.  Also get crock pot ready.

Step 2: In a small bowl mix all of the dry ingredients and set aside. In another small bowl mix together the lemon juice, hot sauce and vinegar.

Step 3: In a medium bowl, put in the chicken thighs, half of the dry ingredients and half of the vinegar mixture. Mix until chicken is coated. Let sit for 15 minutes and then move on to step 4.

Step 4: If the oil is ready for frying, place the chicken thighs in the skillet and fry them for 3 minutes on each side. *The point is not to cook them through, but to get some color of the skin.

Step 5: Put Onions and Bell peppers into Crock pot.

Step 6: To the crock pot, add the rest of the ingredients (the chicken thighs, rest of the dry ingredients and vinegar mixture, the chicken broth). *DO NOT ADD EGG NOODLES YET!!!*

Turn the crock pot on high and cook for 4-5 hrs.

Step 7: Add Egg noodles and let simmer until tender.

Step 8: Serve.

BBQ Chicken Wings for Father's Day

On Father’s Day, I like to make the special men my life an incredible meal.  My husband and most of the meal in my life love anything fried, anything that has to do with chicken and anything smothered in an incredible sauce.  So for the men in my life I like to make them my famous fried chicken wings smothered in my fabulous Chipotle Cooking with Patt’s BBQ Sauce.

Here is the recipe for Cooking With Patt’s BBQ Chicken Wings

BBQ CHICKEN WINGS

Chicken wings

12 chicken wings

3 cups of flour

1 ½ tsp of Pepper

½ tbsp of Garlic powder

½ tbsp of Lemon pepper

1 tsp of paprika

1 tsp of Basil

½ tbsp of Onion powder

½ cup of seasoning salt

1 tsp of garlic salt

Directions for Chicken

Preheat the deep fryer to 350 degrees F.  In a large Ziploc freezer bag or a large plastic bag, Put the flour and the rest of the seasonings into the bag. Coat the Chicken wings with the flour mixture.    Deep fry the wings for 15 minutes. 

Cover them in your favorite BBQ sauce or in Cooking With Patt’s Chipotle BBQ Sauce.

Red Velvet Pancakes: My new favorite Breakfast!

I am always at IHOP.  I just love pancakes and they have a very delicious spread. Well I visited one day and was surprised when they had Red Velvet Pancakes.  I really love anything Red velvet and was so intrigued when I sat down to a nice warm stack. They were so delicious I had to tell everyone.  Well, I decided that I needed to have them whenever I wanted them so…I decided to come up with my own recipe for Red velvet Pancakes.

My entire family loved them and I ended up making them every Sunday for Breakfast…with bacon of course!

Here is my special recipe for Red Velvet Pancakes.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

½ oz of red food coloring

1/4 cup melted butter

Directions

Whisk the flour, white sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt together in a bowl until evenly blended; set aside. Beat the eggs in a separate mixing bowl until smooth. Whisk in 1/4 cup milk with the buttermilk. Then whisk in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, vinegar, and food coloring. Stir in the flour mixture in thirds until moistened. Drizzle in the melted butter, and stir until the butter has been blended into the mixture.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle over medium-high heat. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto the griddle, and cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry. Flip, and cook until browned on the other side.

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

My daughter and I visited our local grocery store and decided that we wanted something sweet. We decided that we would try their Boston Cream Pie donuts. They were so delicious and they gave me a great idea. I decided that I would make some Boston Cream pie cupcakes.

I made them for the family and they loved them. They were all eaten in just one day. I decided that I would share that delicious Recipe with you.

Boston Crème Pie Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour

Click to see savings1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon kosher salt.

¼ cup cocoa powder

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Click to see savings1 cup sugar

Click to see savings2 large eggs

Click to see savings1 2/3 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 box of vanilla pudding

Chocolate icing (store bought or homemade)

Directions

Filling

Prepare filling first. Whisk together the vanilla pudding mix and 1 cup of the whole milk. Set aside.

Cupcakes

Heat oven to 350° F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring after each addition. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating it with the rest of the milk and mixing just until incorporated. Add the vanilla.

Divide the batter among 12 cupcake tins with paper liners. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins for a few minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cut holes in the middle of the cupcakes removing some of the cake. Save the cut out portions to put back onto the cupcake. Fill the middle of some of the vanilla pudding filling. Place the tops back on the cupcakes. Frost with chocolate icing.

Banana Pudding Cupcakes

My Family loves banana Pudding for all occasions. 

We just have a fondness for bananas.  When I was looking for a great dessert to make for mother’s day I decided to make banana pudding. 

Though we enjoy it so much, I was tired of having it the same old way.  I decided to come up with a recipe for banana pudding cupcakes that will give us the same flavors that we love and still be different from the usual.

Here is my recipe for Banana Pudding cupcakes.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour

Click to see saving1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Click to see savings3/4 cup sugar

Click to see savi2 large eggs

Click to s1 2/3 cups whole milk

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

½ cup of crushed Vanilla wafers

1 box of banana pudding mix

Directions

Filling

Prepare filling first. Whisk together the banana pudding mix and 1 cup of the whole milk. Set aside.

Heat oven to 350° F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a bowl of beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring after each addition. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating it with the rest of the milk and mixing just until incorporated. Add the vanilla and fold in half of the crushed vanilla wafers.

Divide the batter among 12 cupcake tins with paper liners. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins for a few minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut holes in the middle of the cupcakes removing some of the cake. Save the cut out portions to put back onto the cupcake. Fill the middle of some of the banana pudding filling and some of the crushed vanilla wafers. Place the tops back on the cupcakes. Frost and decorate. Use some of the crushed wafers to sprinkle on top.