Buffalo chicken pizza. Coming soon to a kitchen near you!

Today I will be showing  you how to make a flatbread buffalo chicken pizza!

As I sit here eating and typing this blog post out (which is hard to do with tasty pizza!), I can tell you this is the best pizza I have ever made in my entire life.  Imagine if you will, a flatbread pizza topped with bleu cheese dressing, piled high with buffalo chicken, smothered in cheese with some fresh spinach and fresh picked basil from the garden on top.  Sounds good huh?  There's the perfect amount of spiceyness and the minty-savory flavor of the basil just tops it off.

This pizza is super easy to make and will take all of 15minutes.  It's a healthy pizza for lunch,dinner, or an afternoon snack.

Makes 2 servings

What you'll need:

2 boneless chicken breasts
1 piece of flatbread (homemade or store bought)
2 sprigs of fresh basil
a hand full of fresh spinach
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup light blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup of your favorite buffalo sauce


How to make it:

Preheat your oven to 350degrees F. Start off by chopping your chicken breast into slices, they will cook faster this way and don't worry they won't dry out.  Place them in a non-stick skillet and cook until done.





While thats cooking wash your basil and spinach and then cut the spinach into 1in wide ribbions. Set aside.

At this point your chicken should be close to done.  When it is done cut it into smaller strips or bite sized chunks.  Put them in a shallow container of your favorite buffalo sauce and toss to cover the chicken completely.

Next you'll want to cover the bottom of your flatbread with a thin layer of the bleu cheese dressing.  Then start piling on the ingredients in any order you want!  DO NOT PUT THE BASIL ON UNTIL IT IS DONE COOKING OR IT WILL SHRIVEL UP AND BROWN I MADE THIS MISTAKE!!!!

                                                                           






                                                                           

The last step is to place it in your oven for about 5minutes.  This is just to let the cheese melt basically.  It should look something like this when its done!















All thats left to do is chow down and enjoy your pizza!!! =)

~Happy eating!~

Vanilla bean cupcakes

Wow its been a while since I posted a new recipe!  Today I'm going to post a simple recipe for vanilla bean cupcakes that I found while browsing around on the internet.  I altered the recipe to my own personal liking since I am lactose intolerant (sucks right?)!  These cupcakes are probably the best vanilla cupcakes I've ever had the pleasure of tasting, they were super moist, full of flavor, and had a very nice almost bouncy texture when I bit into it.  Anyone that knows me knows that I L-O-V-E cupcakes like they were my first born child and these might just wedge their way into your family tree!

(Original recipe belongs to: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/vanilla-bean-cupcakes-recipe/)

FOR THE cupcakes

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 Tbs baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 cups soy or almond milk, room temp (whole milk if you can drink it)
4 large egg whites, room temp
1 stick (8 Tbs) unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 cups sugar
seeds scraped from one vanilla bean
2 tsp pure vanilla extract (use a clear one if you want to preserve the white color of the cake)

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
seeds scraped from one vanilla bean
2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract (this helps maintain the bright white color)
1 ½ pounds (24 ounces) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

DIRECTIONS:

FOR THE CUPCAKES

1. Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and egg whites.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla bean seeds at medium speed for 3 minutes, or until the butter and sugar are very light. Add in the vanilla extract and one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until well incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter fully incorporated and smooth, then add the last of the dry ingredients.

5. Once ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Using a large scoop (about 3 tablespoons), distribute the batter between 18 muffin wells, filling each well 2/3 full.

6. Bake for 18-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers come out clean. Cool on wire rack.

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and seeds from vanilla bean until fluffy. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in confectioners’ sugar, and continue beating until well blended.

2. Add in vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk. Blend on low speed until moistened.

3. Add an additional 1 to 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk until you reach the desired consistency. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy.


Frost cupcakes when competely cooled and serve!

(All orginal recipie rights belong to My Baking Addiction)

Chicken packets

What's a chicken packet you ask?  It's a wonderful meal with veggies and chicken all wrapped up in a little tinfoil packet and thrown on the grill!  The decision to make these was a spur of the moment thing since I was starving and didn't really feel like putting much effort into cooking.  These are very easy to make and cook in about 10min on a outdoor grill.

I basically just threw whatever I had in my fridge into these, so its more of a hodgepodge meal than a well planned out one.  But at least I got rid of old veggies that were slightly wilted since crispness doesn't matter when making this meal, everything gets soft anyways LOL.

Here's what you'll need to get started:  Makes 2 packets

2 medium sized chicken breasts
1 bell pepper of your choice
1-2 stalks of celery
2 small red potatoes
2 medium sized carrots
juice from 2 small lemons
salt&pepper to taste
Montreal steak seasoning

How to make it:
First you're going to want to preheat your grill and get it nice and toasty.  Then cut up all the veggies and put them in a large bowl.  Add in the salt & pepper, Montreal seasoning, and the lemon juice.   Mix well.  Next pull off enough tinfoil to cover one of the chicken breasts and half of the veggies.  Place the chicken in the middle of the tinfoil and place the veggies on and around it.  Then close up the tinfoil so that you can't see the food inside.  Repeat for the 2nd piece of chicken.  Place onto the grill when its ready and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the juices run clear on the chicken breast.  Serve immediately on its own or on a bed of rice and enjoy!

Sketti!

Spaghetti is a great and easy food to make quickly and it stores pretty well for about 7days in the fridge!  It's coming to that time at the end of the month where I start to run out of food since I only go shopping once a month to save money.  Oddly enough though this is when I'm at my creative peak for recipes, now you'd think that wouldn't make sense seeing as I have more to work with at the beginning of each shopping period but it actually works out great.  You see, the less I have the more creative and thoughtful I have to be about what I'm going to make.  Sometimes I have everything but the kitchen sink in my pot!

Coming up with new cooking ideas can be a challenge especially when working on a budget.  Unlike most people I can't go out every week for groceries because that would be way too costly so I shop once a month and get everything I need.  On occasion I'll go out to get a fresh veggie or two but generally I never need to.  Being on my last week of my food supply is actually how I came up with a grilled cheese tuna sandwich and I'm not really sure what compelled me to try this strange combination but it worked out really well.

So here's a recipe for a easy garden fresh spaghetti that I got from allrecipes.com  everything used are common ingredients that most if not all of you should have on hand!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
• 2  chopped celery stalks 
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped green pepper (bell pepper)
• 1 tablespoon  chopped sweet red pepper (bell pepper)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/8 (12 ounce) can tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon beef broth
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese
• Hot cooked spaghetti (make this last)

Directions:

In a Dutch oven, saute the mushrooms, carrots, celery, onion, peppers and garlic in oil until tender. Add the next 10 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour. Serve over spaghetti.


Notes:
The spaghetti I made was A LOT simpler, it was about 10pm mind you and I was feeling lazy LOL. So I just hand rolled some meatballs and made a small fruit salad to go with it. Enjoy your food!

Jazzed up Ramen

Ramen has pretty much become a staple food in every college kids pantry and for good reason. It's cheap, easy to make, and very easy to jazz up with a couple of common ingredients found in everyone's house.  By simply adding one or two more things to your Ramen you can have a much more filling and tasty meal ready in about 5 minutes!

A single packet of plain Ramen supposedly feeds two people according to the package but I call bs on that one.  I can easily eat a pack on my own and not be full afterwards. But if you are on a budget and trying to feed yourself and your room mate don't worry!  This simple Ramen with a few added things can easily feed both of you.

Here's what you'll need:

1 packet of Ramen (your choice of flavor)
1 small or medium chicken breast
1 large carrot
1 medium head of broccoli
1 celery stalk
2tbs of lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste
McCormick chicken spice
1tbs of olive oil

Make it!
Start out by chopping up the chicken breast into bite sized pieces then season with salt, pepper, chicken seasoning, and 1 tbs of lemon juice.  Wash and peel your carrot and wash the celery.  Cut on a diagonal angle.  Wash and cut your broccoli into bite sized pieces.  Season all the veggies with salt and pepper.  Don't be afraid to over-season your food this time as it'll help flavor the Ramen when combined.
Throw it all in a pan over high heat with the olive oil and cook until the veggies are fork tender, about 5min.  Meanwhile cook your Ramen either on the stove or in the microwave this also takes about 5min.
Once everything is done combine everything together and serve!

Notes:
Don't be afraid to experiment!!!!!  This can be made so many different ways to adjust it to your tastes!  Try adding scrambled eggs,cheese,eggplant,peas and anything else you can think of.  Ramen is a very versatile meal so do what you feel is right!

Vodka infused pomegranate-berry iced tea

Summer is upon us and that means it's time to break out the iced tea!  I love a good iced tea and I'm not talking about that Lipton crap, this pomegranate-berry iced tea is straight from the Mighty Leaf Tea company and it's simply amazing.  From the moment I open my tin of tea my nose is filled with the wonderful scent of pomegranates and various berries with a slight hint of citrus.

This iced tea can also be made into a slushie or margarita of sorts simply by putting it in the blender with some ice and liquor of your choice.  This drink is very refreshing, easy to make, and can be made in big batches.

Ingredients: Yields 1gallon of tea
1 one oz pomegranate tea bag
2-3 cups of ice (depends on your pitcher size)
vodka
sugar for rimming the glasses
blueberries and raspberries for garnish
mint for garnish
a few thin lemon slices

Directions:
Heat filtered or bottled water to a rolling boil or to 205 degrees F. Add tea bag to a 1-gallon pitcher or container.  Fill pitcher halfway with boiling water. For best flavor infuse for 5minutes but no longer than that or tea will be bitter.  Remove the tea bag and discard.  Add ice so that the level of the liquid rises to the top of the pitcher. Shake to flash chill or store in the refrigerator for an hour.

Meanwhile, coat the edge of your glasses in sugar simply by getting the edge wet and then rolling and pressing it into the sugar. Add 1-1/2oz of vodka (or more if you're feeling adventurous), a bit of ice and iced tea to a martini shaker.  Shake well. Be careful as it will get foamy!  Pour into glasses until full. Add a thin slice of lemon to the edge of the glass.  Skewer a few blueberries and raspberries on a long toothpick alternating berries and set into the tea. Add a sprig of mint if desired and enjoy!

Notes:
This drink can be made kid friendly simply by substituting the vodka for sparkling water or 7up.

Experiment!! Try out different types of liquor  and tea with this, it might turn out great but you never know until you try!!

Tea brewing

Sorry I've been gone so long, I've been super busy lately!  Today I'll be talking about how to properly brew tea.  All teas have their special way of being steeped whether its green,black,white,herbal,iced, or oolong knowing how long to steep your tea can really make a difference in the taste.

Water quality
The first step in brewing tea is of course water!  The quality of the water that you choose to use is very important as this impacts the taste of the tea.  Try to use purified water or spring water.  Tap water and bottled waters aren't usually used since they still have minerals and impurities in them and can greatly alter the taste of teas.  Never use hot tap water to speed up the brewing process because the water heater in your home adds even more impurities into it.

Picking your tea
Choosing good tea can be a challenge sometimes since there are so many out there to pick from.  Your local grocery store may carry 20+ different kinds of tea which is great if you want cheap artificially flavored tea.  Health food stores will sometimes sell gourmet and organic teas but will often have less of a selection than that of a grocery store.  A tea house would be your best bet for tasting and buying gourmet teas.  While the latter option may cost more it's worth it for great quality tea.

How much tea to use
When buying loose leaf tea (tea that's not in a bag) you'll want to use about 1-2tsp per 8oz glass and adding more tea until the desired briskness and body is achieved.  If using a bag of tea you'll only need one bag per 8oz glass.

Heating up your water
Water temperature is just as important as picking out your desired tea. Heat your water in a glass, ceramic or clay teapot until it reaches a boil (212 degrees Fahrenheit) then allow the water to cool before brewing your tea. As a general rule green tea should always be heated to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, 190 degrees for Oolong tea, and 200 degrees for black tea.

Brewing methods
Brewing loose leaf tea in a teapot:  This method of brewing allows for maximum freedom for the leaves to unfurl.  This makes for a stronger, more flavorful cup.  The disadvantages are removing the leaves and cleaning the teapot after brewing. If the leaves are allowed to sit in the water for a long period of time the tea can become bitter.

The tea ball: Most tea balls are made from aluminum or stainless steel to hold the tea in place.  This allows for easier cleanup of the leaves.  However there is usually insufficient space for the tea leaves to expand.

Coffee pot:  Brewing your tea in a coffee pot is a fast and easy way to get a lot of tea at once.  A disadvantage to this is that most coffee makers won't heat water hot enough for Oolong or fine green teas to produce the best taste.

Steeping tea:
After gauging the proper water temperature, the tea leaves are steeped in the water using one of the methods listed above.  Steeping tea leaves should be allowed to set still during this process because excess motion can cause the release of more tannins which can lead to bitter tasting tea.  Do not steep tea for to long before serving when brewing in a teapot.  Many newer teapots have basket filters that can be removed after the tea has steeped for the recommended time.  Start with 1-3 minutes and gradually increase the time to your preferred likeness.  This is especially important when preparing delicate green teas. 



Enjoy your perfect tea!

Wiiiingz

There's nothing better than a plate full of chicken wings.  Today it seems like every restaurant on the planet has some kind of chicken wing on their menu, and with a billion different flavors out there it can be hard to choose a favorite.  There's no doubt that home made is always going to be the best but my favorite wings are the Kentucky derby bleu cheese wings at Velocity 5 in Arlington VA.

This recipe is a simple dry rub that can be altered in so many different ways ( I added chili flakes to mine.) So get those wet-naps ready cuz these wings will rock your socks!

Here's what you'll need
Makes enough rub for about 20 wings
Ingredients:
3 TBS dark brown sugar
3 TBS salt
1 TBS freshly ground black pepper; coarsely ground
1 TBS paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
A bit of olive oil to brush on the wings

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Cut the tips off of your wings if they came with them.  Remove any extra feathers that may still be on the chicken.
2.  Brush on a bit of olive oil on to each wing coating the entire thing.  Sprinkle the dry rub onto the wings and don't be shy with it!
3. Place on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil and pop those babies into the oven for 45 min or until the skin is nice and crispy golden brown.
4. Put them in your mouth and enjoy!

God like brownies

These are hands down the best brownies I have ever tasted in my life!  I got this recipe from The Londoner and they aren't kidding when they say "Best brownies in the WORLD."

They're very easy to make, needing only three common ingredients that most if not all households have on hand. You can opt for the easy way by using boxed mixes or if you're feeling really adventurous make your own!  I will talk no more and let you bake these heavenly treats.

Ingredients:
1 Box of oreos
1 Box of fudge brownie mix
1 Box of chocolate chip cookie mix

Directions:
 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Follow the instructions on the cookie mix box & stir until you have gooey cookie dough, add a little extra water and oil to what they suggest, it just keeps it moist as you'll be baking it for longer than suggested. An extra teaspoon of each is just right.

Mix up your brownie mix as the directions say on the box.

Press the cookie dough into your paper lined pan until the bottom is covered.  Next place a layer of oreos on top.  Lastly pour the brownie mix on top and even it out.

Bake for about 30mins.  Bake time may vary depending on your oven but it shouldn't take less than 30 mins for these babys to cook.

When done let cool for about 5min then remove from pan using the paper to lift it out onto a cutting surface.  Cut yourself a big chunk, piece, slab, whatever you feel you can eat at the moment! Get a big glass of milk too and enjoy!

(Recipe credit goes to The Londoner)

Japanese cucumber salad

I L-O-V-E Japanese food!  It's always flavorful, super colorful, and good for you.  Today I decided to start out with a Japanese style cucumber salad with seaweed wrapped shrimp.  This dish makes a great light lunch or a perfect afternoon snack.  It's easy and quick to make, and many of us already have the ingredients to make it.

The one item that you may not have is the seaweed or nori as it's usually called in supermarkets.  Nori comes in a package of 6-10 sheets and can be found in the Asian food section of your local super market.  Anyone that eats sushi is familiar with this green food that is wrapped around their rice and can tell you that it tastes great!

When using nori you must make sure that your work surface is dry and clean, water will make your nori very soggy and hard to work with if you need to cut it.

Here's what you'll need to get started:
Ingredients:
2-3 sheets of nori
1 large English cucumber
1/4c rice vinegar
1tsp. sugar
1/4tsp. salt
2 Tbs sesame seeds, toasted (see details below*)
10 small shrimp or 5 extra large shrimp (uncooked)

Instructions:
1. Wash and peel your cucumber to leave alternating green stripes.  Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise.  Using a sharp knife or mandolin, cut into thin slices.  Place in a double layer of paper towel and press down gently to remove excess water.
2*.To toast the sesame seeds, heat a small dry skillet over low heat.  Add seeds and stir constantly until golden and fragrant, about 2min. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool.
3. Combine vinegar, sugar and salt in a medium non reactive bowl, stirring to dissolve. Tear pieces of the nori off and add to the liquid mixture. Add the cucumbers and sesame seeds; toss well to combine.  Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
4. Bring a small pot of water to a low boil.  Very carefully slice the nori into strips wide enough to wrap your shrimp in. Meanwhile start cooking your shrimp in the small skillet until it reaches a nice pink color.  Set aside when done.  Dip each strip of nori one by one into the boiling water until it softens, about 5sec then very carefully take it out with a fork and place on a plate allowing part of the edge  to hang off so you can pick it up.
5. Carefully wrap your shrimp in the nori going around the curved edge of the shrimp.  Don't worry if you tear the nori it'll adhere to its self if you stick another piece on.
6. Plate your cucumber salad and shrimp. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi.

10 minute baked potatoes

Everyone loves a good fully loaded baked potato and these are to die for.  These quick and easy 10 minute baked potatoes are great for a quick lunch or an addition to dinner.  Lets face it no one wants to wait an hour for a potato to bake anymore, we want our food fast!


My baked potatoes have all of the fixings; chives, bacon, sour cream, cheese, and salt & pepper.  Anyone on a diet or health conscious person should not eat these since they are a bit unhealthy for you (but delicious)!


Here's what you'll need:
Recipie Yields 1 serving


Ingredients:
1 large baking potato
3 Tbs. fat free sour cream
2-3 strips of bacon
1 Tbs. finely chopped chives
2 large button mushrooms
lots of shredded cheese
salt & pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Preheat  your oven broiler ~500 degrees non convection.
2. Scrub potato under cold water. Prick several times with a fork. Place in a microwave safe container. Make sure you vent the lid of the container a bit to let some of the steam out.
3. Place potato in the microwave for about 5-7 minutes on HIGH. Times may vary depending on your wattage.  
4. Meanwhile cook the bacon in a skillet until well done and crunchy.  Slice the mushrooms and cook with the bacon until tender. When done crumble or chop the bacon into small pieces.   Rinse and chop the chives into small pieces, set aside.
5. In a bowl combine the sour cream, chives, bacon and mushrooms. Set aside.
6. When the potato is done very carefully open the lid to the container making sure to keep fingers away from the steam.  Cut off the top of the potato and spoon out the inside of the potato (leaving the skin and a little of the potato flesh intact) into the sour cream mixture. Mix thoroughly, mashing the potatoes a bit.  Add salt and pepper if desired.
7. Spoon the potato mixture back into your potato skin. Don't worry it'll all fit just mush it down with the spoon!  Top with cheese and place in broiler until cheese has melted.

Quick and easy potatoes! Serve with dinner or eat it as is!
Enjoy! =]

Lemon chicken rice soup

There's nothing better on a cold day than a bowl of hot soup.  I love love love lemons and rice so I made soup!  Lemons can be used in so many different ways such as in marinades, marmalade, lemonade, and various other things.


The leaves from the lemon tree are often used in teas and for medicinal purposes. Lemon leaves are considered to be helpful as an anti-inflammatory agent and aid to digestion or in reducing fevers and cramps. The lemon leaf tea also acts as a cough medicine, also the low pH of lemon juice makes it antibacterial but don't go squeezing lemon juice on your kids cuts and scrapes!


This soup is VERY lemony and thick.  If you like, you can reduce the amount of lemon juice added and increase the amount of chicken broth used to make it less thick.


Lemon chicken rice soup:


3 1/4 c. chicken broth
1 chicken flavor bouillon cube or 1 tsp. instant chicken bouillon
1/3 c. uncooked regular rice
1/3 c. diced carrots
1/3 c. chopped celery
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1 c. cubed, cooked chicken
3 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
3 eggs
6 tbsp. lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste
Lemon slices (opt.)
Sliced green onions or dill (opt.)


In large saucepan, combine chicken broth, bouillon cube, rice, carrots, celery and onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20 minutes or until rice and vegetables are tender. Stir in chicken. Remove broth mixture from heat.

In small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly until smooth and bubbly. Gradually stir in 2 cups broth mixture; cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly.

In small bowl or stand mixer beat eggs until frothy. Gradually beat in lemon juice and 2 cups thickened broth mixture. Slowly add egg mixture to broth mixture in large saucepan, stirring constantly. Heat gently until soup thickens enough to coat a spoon, stirring frequently; do not boil. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish each serving with lemon slice, onions or dill. Makes about 5 (1 cup) servings.

Green tea pancakes anyone?

Now I know what most of you are probably thinking "why in the world would I put tea in pancakes?!"  Well ladies and gentlemen, green tea pancakes are exceptionally good tasting and very good for you. If you’re looking to wake up with a little boost, here’s one way. It’s not the only way to cram antioxidants into your early-morning diet — a pile of cooked greens could fulfill — but it’s certainly a change of pace for that chore. They say that green tea also helps you focus, and it does contain caffeine, too, so this might be like getting your cup of coffee (or tea) in solid form, too.

We all know that green tea is a great source of antioxidants. But when drinking matcha, or eating it as a baked good, you actually ingest the whole tea leaves, instead of just water steeped in them. Therefore, you take in about three times the nutritional benefits of regular brewed green tea. This includes the amino acid L-theanine, which is known to reduce stress and depression, as well as antioxidants to combat free radicals in your system. Also, matcha has a delightfully grassy, slightly bitter flavor that pairs well with sweetness.  

Here's what you'll need to make these seriously strange-looking stack of pancakes.

**Matcha powder is powdered green tea and can be purchased at your local health food store, from most tea shops, or online. This is the same stuff that Starbucks Coffee Co. uses in their green tea frappuccino.  I get mine from Mighty Leaf Tea. Its pricey but well worth it since you'll only be using about 1Tsp if that each time you make it.

Green Tea Pancakes

(makes 4-6)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 grams (about 1/2 tsp) matcha powder**
2 teaspoons sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
butter for the pan

(or you can use a pre-made pancake mix, which is what I chose to do).

Directions:

Combine the flour, baking powder, and matcha in a bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the egg with the sugar and whisk in the milk. Slowly whisk in the dry ingredients and continue to mix until there are no lumps. (Combine matcha and pancake mix in a bowl).

Heat a griddle or fry pan over medium-high. Add a small amount of butter and spread it around the pan. Scoop a ladle of batter onto the pan and let cook on one side about 1-2 minutes, or until bubbles start to form. Flip and cook on opposite until golden-brown on both sides. Transfer to a serving plate and continue procedure with the rest of the batter.

Serving suggestion: add bananas, kiwi fruit, candied ginger, or yogurt on top of these.

Gourmet burgers!

Hello everyone! Today I will be sharing a recipe for delicious feta cheese stuffed burgers with basil-tomatoes on top!
These burgers are great for summer days when you want to feel like you're eating an expensive gourmet burger but don't want to pay the gourmet price! Simple feta cheese stuffed burgers with a home made salsa on top will do the trick!
Here's what you'll need:

• 4  Italian plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped (or one large tomato)
• 1  tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2  teaspoons chopped fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1/8  teaspoon salt
• 1 clove of garlic roughly chopped
• 4-5 grinds of coarsely ground fresh pepper
• 1  lb. ground beef top round* (or whatever ground beef you want)
• 1 1/2  oz. feta cheese, crumbled
• 4  burger buns, split

Directions

1. In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, lemon juice, basil, salt and pepper; mix well. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes to blend flavors. 
2. Meanwhile, shape ground beef into 8 patties, 4 inches in diameter. Top one side of patty with feta cheese. Top each with remaining patty. Seal patties by pressing edges together. 
3. Spray broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place patties on pan. Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat for 3 minutes. Carefully turn burgers; broil an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until no longer pink in center.
4. To serve, place burgers on bottom halves of buns; spoon 1/4 of tomato mixture over each burger. Cover with top halves of buns.   hese burgers are delicious! I hope everyone enjoys them! Happy eating!

Mudslide Cupcakes!

I couldn't wait to share this with you today.  I have many more recipes to share, but you know what?  This one is first in line today.  I usually try to stay away from boozy desserts since for me there's always too much of an alcohol taste to them.  Also coffee flavored anything is usually a big NO for me since they taste awful. Some people don't like strawberries or cherries, I don't like coffee flavored anything. But here I am slowly but surely changing my mind. Maybe I'm becoming more of an adult!  

I'm not sure what compelled me to make these, save for the fact that I LOVE chocolate.  Chocolate cupcakes always seem to dry out a bit and become a big pile of disappointment.  But these, dear lord these are good super moist, rich and velvety!  And the Bailey's butter cream frosting was divine. I took a spoonful or two to taste ;).  I will say though that these cupcakes defiantly have a boozy taste about them.

Here's what you'll need to get started:

Mudslide Cupcakes

Servings: approximately 20 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

3 eggs, separated and at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 cup strong cold coffee

3/4 cup Kahlua

For the Kahlua buttercream:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups (or more, if needed) powdered sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

4 tablespoons Kahlua

3 tablespoons hot coffee

For the Bailey’s buttercream:

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, shaved in curls

Instructions

1. For the cupcakes:  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and prepare your cupcake pan with your desired liners.

2. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy.

3.  Add the granulated sugar to the eggs with the mixer running and continue to whisk, at medium-high speed, until the mixture is thick, stiff, and glossy.  Transfer the egg white mixture to another bowl, and clean out your standing mixer bowl thoroughly.

4. In your clean mixer bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

5. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

6. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, and baking soda.

7. With the mixer speed on low, slowly add the flour mixture, coffee, and Kahlua alternately, ending with the flour mixture.

8. Stop the mixer, and gently fold in the egg whites into the batter using a rubber spatula, until well-combined.

9. Fill each prepared cupcake liner about two-thirds full.

10.  Bake the cupcakes for about 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.

11. For the Kahlua buttercream:  In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and powdered sugar on low speed until smooth.

12. Add the cocoa powder, Kahlua, and coffee, adding more powdered sugar if necessary.  Set aside.

13. For the Bailey’s buttercream: In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or another bowl if you are getting tired of cleaning your mixer bowl out….), combine the butter and powdered sugar until smooth.

14. Add the vanilla extract and Bailey’s Irish Cream, mixing well until combined.

15. Pipe the buttercream (description of how-to below) onto the cupcakes and garnish with chocolate curls.

Now let's talk about swirling icing. First what I did was I filled up two disposable pastry bags with the frosting, one in each bag.  Then I cut the tips off of those and put them into another larger disposable pastry bag fit with my desired tip (if you don't have one ziplock bags work just as well, pipe the frosting out of a corner). Squeeze out a bit of the frosting on a paper plate just to get the first few air bubbles out and to get the frosting to come out at the same time. This is a little tricky if it's your first time trying to swirl frosting since the consistency of these two are different one came out a little better.  If your frosting is too watery just add more powdered sugar 1/4c at a time until the desired thickness is reached.