Samosa's

I love Indian food. I learned how to make a few of the best Indian dishes when I was in my teenage years. I learned from my boss who's was from India. This dish stood out to me the most, it is best paired with a sweet mango chutney. This is a great vegetarian dish, but you could always add cooked ground beef to the filling.

Filling
1 finely diced potato
1 finely diced carrot
2 cloves of garlic crushed
1 onion finely chopped
1c frozen peas
1tbsp vegetable oil
2tsp curry
S&P to taste
3.5 ounces veg stock

Method
Heat oil and fry onion and garlic with spices and fry until soft. Add vegetables and stir together. Add vegetable stock, cover and simmer mixture until softened for approx 30 min

Pastry
1 1/2c flour
2tsp salt
2tbsp oil
1/3c water

Method
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, create a well in the center, add oil and water to make a firm dough. Knead the dough on a floured surface roll in a ball when dough id smooth. Cover and set aside for 30 min.
Divide dough into a dozen equal balls. Roll each out and fill with filling folding one side over to create a triangle. Seal edges by brushing lightly with water and press together.
Fry until golden brown and crisp. Drain oil on paper towel.

PB Cup Ice Cream

MMMM Mmmmm mmmm. This ice cream is very rich, and creamy. I use Reeses Big Cups because I live the peanut butter more then the chocolate. I used a Cuisinart Ice Cream Machine for this one. I like this Ice cream machine its good for the flexibility in the texture and softness. 

Ingredients
1c creamy peanut butter
3/4c sugar
1c whole milk
1 1/3c heavy cream
1 1/2tsp vanilla
3/4c chopped peanut butter cups

Method
Mix peanut butter and sugar on low until smooth. Add milk blend until smooth, add heavy cream and vanilla. Pour in Ice Cream Maker for 35-45 min at last 5 min add candy. Serve or freeze.

I recommend using the Cuisinart ice cream maker you can find a great one in my amazon store.

Green Chile

In Colorado there is this yummy goodness that you smother all of your Mexican food with. That my friend is Green Chile. My mother made a wonderful green chile. I use her recipe with a few alterations. Use this green chile to cover your Chile relleno's and burritos. Its really yumii.

Ingredients
1 lb of pork or chicken
1 7 0z can of green chile diced
2 tbsp olive oil
4c chicken broth
1 can Rotel tomato's
garlic salt to taste
Cumin
2tbsp flour

Method
Cut desired meat into chunks, fry until browned. Set meat aside and add olive oil to pan and cook until browned. Add meat back to pan, add green chile and tomato rotel, chicken broth and spices. Simmer on med/low heat for at least 1 hour. If you need to add liquid, add chichen broth. To thicken remove 1 cup of liquid from pan and mix with 2tbsp of flour, return mixture to pan stir in to thicken.

Chicken Noodle Soup

This is the best option for chicken noodle soup. A can is just not as good. It's a great way to take care of your sickly loved ones. The longer you cook your base the better your soup.

Ingredients

8c chicken stock
3 Chicken breast or remains of Roasted chicken
1c carrots
1/2 onion
1c celery
2 cloves garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
Small or Med Egg noodles

Method
To make broth boil the remains of a roasted chicken in water, with onion, salt, pepper, parsleyand bullion cubes. After you bring it to a boil simmer for 4hours. Strain broth from chicken, saving broth. Separate any meat from chicken add to the broth, add chicken breast to broth and cook for 1 hour. Saute onion garlic and celery in pan, add to soup with carrots and cook until carrots are tender. Adjust seasonings. You may want to add some bullion to the broth for more flavor.

*Add desired amount of noodles, or rice to soup cook until tender.
I cook the soup omitting the noodles and keep leftovers without the noodles. When I make leftovers I cook noodles to serve.

PB & Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I saw this recipe on Martha's show. But they can be found on MarthaStewart.com. These cookies are scrumptious morsels of goodness. The chocolate chunks beat the chip on these peanut butter cookies. They have a great balance of soft and chewy. I started making these cookies 10 years ago and still love them today.

Ingredients
1 1/2c all purpose flour
1tsp baking soda
1c peanut butter
4tbsp unsalted butter softened
1/2c brown sugar
1/2c granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1tsp pure vanilla extract
6 ounces semisweet chocolate cut in chunks

Method
Mix together butters and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla beat until smooth. Combine the dry ingredients and gradually add to the creamy mixture. Stir in chocolate chunks. Drop dough 1 inch apart onto baking sheet.
Bake at 350° 13-15 min until golden

As American As Cherry Pie

This recipe I use my piecrust recipe. The filling is a homemade sweet cherry pie filling. You could use any cherries for this recipe. I chose the sweet cherries for the intense color. Use cherries from a fruit stand or organic market. The cherries are much better then big box stores. The pie was wonderful. I'm glad I did this completely homemade.

Ingredients

4c pitted cherries

1 1/2c sugar

1/2c water

4tbsp cornstarch

Method

Combine the water and sugar to pan until dissolved. Add cherries bring to a boil. Mix cornstarch with a little water 1:1, to eliminate lumps, add to cherries. Stir into cherries to avoid lumps, stir constantly. Pie filling should be thick. Cook just until thickened. Don't overcook the cherries. Pour pie filling into the unbaked pie crust. I do a lattice top for cherry pie, if you want a fully covered pie make sure you cut vents in the top of the pie.

425° for 30 min or until golden brown

Pie Crust

This pie crust is from my Grandma Bostron, and it is the best flaky pie crust. The mehod is using half butter and half shortening. I use this for all of my pies. This recipe is good for 1 pie with top crust. if you are making pumpkin pie its good for 2 pie crusts.

Pie Crust

Ingredients
3c flour
1tsp salt
1/2c shortening
1/2c butter
10tbsp ice cold water

Method
Mix flour and salt add butter and shortening, cut with a pastry fork, or use pulse on food processor until mixture is pea sized. Add cold water toss with fork until flour is barely dampened. Turn mixture on to wax paper. Press together to form a ball. Divide into two. Roll between two pieces of
wax paper with flour. Let overhang pie plate. Fill with desired filling. Baking depends on filling.

Shish Kabob

What a great summer grill meal. Shish Kabob is a quick easy meal. Summer is hot, what better then a refreshing meal. Serve your shish kabobs with grilled pita, rice and a cool tzatziki sauce. You can use an outside grill, or a grill pan in the kitchen. Either gives you nice grill marks. Build your own kabobs. get creative, it tastes great!

Ingredients
Meat Marinade
1 lb sirloin or chicken cubed
2tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 cloves minced garlic
1 lemon squeezed
1/4c olive oil
salt and pepper

Veggies
Cherry tomatoes
Onions quartered
Bell pepper
Mushrooms
Corn on the Cobb
Cubed feta

Method
Marinade meat for at least 1 hour, soak skewers at least 15 min before they go on the grill. Load skewer with desired components, alternate. Cook on grill until meat is your desired taste. If you are cooking on a grill pan, cook until you get your grill marks then finish cooking meat in oven at 350°

Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes

This recipe is a modified recipe. I found a this recipe from MarthaStewart.com. I followed it all except I used my own buttercream frosting. So the cake is on her site. as well. I do love Martha Stewart, I must give credit where needed.

Cake Ingredients
1c unsalted butter
2c sugar
2tsp vanilla bean paste
5 large eggs separated
1 3/4c Flour plus 2tbsp and 1tsp
2tsp baking powder
1 1/3c cake flour
1/2tsp salt
1c sour cream
Meyer Lemon Curd

Buttercream
1c Unsalted butter
3c Confection Sugar
1tsp Almond Extract
2tbsp Milk or Cream

Method Preheat oven to 350° Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add vanilla and egg yolks one at a time beating well after each is added. In a separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients, Add to the cream mixture slowly, then add sour cream, mix until well combined. In a CLEAN bowl beat the egg whites with a whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold into cake batter. Fill each muffin cup half full with batter. Bake for 20-24 min until toothpick comes out clean. Cool cakes, fill pastry bag with lemon curd, fill the cupcake center.

To each cupcake with buttercream and a fresh raspberry.