SUPER SIMPLE Eggnog Crème Brûlée

This is my last post of this year....😪...but it's been a fantastic year!!! Thanks to all who have asked for these recipes, left comments and just supported me!!! 

This dessert sounds daunting and even makes me a little nervous BUT it's simple. Don't pay a fortune at a resteraunt for this fancy French dessert do it yourself. Impress your friends and family with this at the end of a great meal(hopefully one you found on this blog). ENJOY.....eat on!!!

FAQs I learned in school:

What is creme brulee?

Creme brulee is creamy custard dessert with a caramelized sugar topping. 

How do I know when the custard is done?

The edges are set but the center is still jiggly. A knife inserted off center should come out clean.

How hot does the water in the water bath need to be? 

Boiling

How high should the water bath be?

Same height as custard

Is there way to brulee without a mini torch?

Yes, use your broiler!!!!! :)

2 cups of eggnog
2 eggs
1/4 cup of light brown sugar 

Preheat oven to 350.

Warm eggnog in a small pan until tiny bubbles form.  Remove from heat.

In a bowl, beat eggs until thick and creamy

Very slowly whisk the eggs into the eggnog mixture

Pour into ramekins.  Add boiling water to a baking pan large enough to hold ramekins. Water should be at least the height of the custard. BUT YOU DONT WANT IT TOO HIGH WHERE IT COULD BOIL OVER AND IMTO RAMEKINS!!!

Bake for 20 minutes and remove. If it's not done(FAQ #2) keep baking in 5 min intervals. If it never sets after a while(15 mins) toss!! :( 

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Turn broiler on, remove ramekins and sprinkle brown sugar over the top of each dessert.

Broil until brown sugar is melted.  Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes to harden.

You could serve with fresh berries.

BREAD MACHINE TX Roadhouse rolls

Texas Roadhouse Rolls for bread maker

make 18 large rolls

1/4 cup warm water

2 tsp dry yeast
1 cup milk
1-1/2 Tbs butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3-1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour

CINNAMON BUTTER

• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup honey
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Beat butter with hand mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Add remaining ingredients and beat with mixer until well blended. Serve on warm rolls.

Put all ingredients in bread maker according to YOUR bread maker.  Set for dough.  When done, take out and roll into a rectangle.  Fold the dough in half and let rest for 15 minutes.  Cut into squares.  I used a pizza cutter to do this.

Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes (adjust accordingly - depending on the size of the rolls) till golden brown.

The most important step is to generously butter the hot rolls before bringing them to the table. This makes themirresistible!  Serve with cinnamon buttter.

Braised short ribs and penne

• 4 pounds beef short ribs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 5 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths
• 1 cup red wine or red cooking wine(what I used)
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. In a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or ovenproof stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the ribs and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the ribs and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine and mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the ribs to the pan. Add the beef broth, cover the pan and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is fork-tender and falls easily from the bone. Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid. Using a large spoon, remove any excess fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Keep on low. Remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into small pieces. Stir the shredded meat into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon take pasta from pot and add directly into sauce.Toss well. Sprinkle the pasta with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley before serving.

Greek pasta with baked lemon chicken

Ingredients:

4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano

12 oz of your fave pasta(I used twirls so it would into the nooks)

Chicken:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

pepper to taste

kosher salt to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 lemons, cut into wedges

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°.
In a large bowl, combine feta, tomatoes, olives, parsley, lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil and oregano. Cover and chill in refrigerator.

Boil pasta. Once done mix with feta mixture. 

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large roasting pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with kosher salt and pepper. Sear chicken, about 1-2 minutes each side; remove from heat.
Squeeze lemon wedges over chicken to coat. Place the squeezed lemon wedges around the chicken breasts. Roast for about 25-30 mins. 

Slice and put on top of pasta. Enjoy!!

Naan Bread(bread machine)

INGREDIENTS:

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

DIERCTIONS:

1. Put the milk and egg in the bread machine.

2. Mix flour, sugar and salt together and then put them on top of the milk.

3. Add the yeast on top the flour.

4. Use the “dough” function of your bread machine to make the dough.

5. Turn out the dough on a lightly floured working surface and divide it into 5 equal portions. Form each one into balls.

6. Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot, and grease lightly.

7. Flatten the dough a little bit just so you can sprinkle some salt and mined garlic on it. Use a rolling pin to press the minced garlic into the surface of the dough.

Coconut Curry Chicken

I have always wanted to eat Indian food but my number one problem was that I didn't know where a good place to go was AND of I didn't like it it would be a waste of time and money. So I decided to try to make my own. I know the basic flavored of India and I know that have a fantastic. Read, naan. So here it is my experiment of Indian cuisine....and I must say so myself that I was FANTASTIC!!!! Enjoy......and Eat on!!!!

INGREDIENTS: 

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 tbsp  EVOO

1 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp ground coriander

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp curry powder

1 cup coconut milk

pinch cayenne

Fresh limes, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS:

1. Trim fat from chicken breasts. And place in a ziplock bag. 
2. Mix all remaining ingredients except limes.
3. Add chicken and marinade to a large bowl or ziploc bag and chill in the refrigerator for up to two hours.
4. Once you are ready to cook the chicken, remove each breast from the marinade.
5. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a rolling boil.  Boil continuously for at least 2 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn.
6. Grill chicken.
7. Sprinkle with fresh lime juice. Serve with sauce on the side and naan(Indian bread, recipe on blog)

Chocolate Pie

• My husband LOVES chocolate pies so he makes them like once a week....lol...that might be a stretch but it's a close guesstimate!!! He makes it the very quick way with a bought graham cracker crust and chocolate pudding, which is ok BUT I wanted to make him one the way I was taught to make them in school, with real chocolate custard and a yummy crust. So here it is, chocolate pie with a simple shortbread crust!! Enjoy.....and Eat on!!!

Shortbread pie crust

• 4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt

Stir together butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir in yolk. Add flour and salt, and stir until mixture is dry and crumbly. Press dough into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Freeze until firm. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake just until crust turns golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool. 

This crust is so simple and delicious it could be the crust to any pie!!!

Chocolate pie filling

1 can Evaporated Milk

2 large egg yolks

2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

Whipped cream(from scratch by putting cold heavy whipping cream in a mixer and let it mix until it has stuff peaks...and confectioners sugar and fold in)

Whisk evaporated milk and egg yolks in medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is hot and starts to thicken slightly; DO NOT boil. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate until completely melted and mixture is smooth.

Pour into crust; refrigerate until firm. Top with whipped cream before serving. 

12 hour faux smoked brisket

My freezer stopped working....and basically everything started to defrost. Including our 5lb brisket, but it was raining and I was already using the grill and oven cooking other things that defrosted!!! Soooo I needed to use the crockpot but I wanted to smoke it but couldn't.....so time to turn to the liquid smoke!!!! And that's what I used to give this brisket the 'smokelike" quality!!! So Enjoy.....and Eat on. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups BBQ sauce

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons liquid smoke

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine all ingredients and coat brisket well.
2. Place brisket and marinade in crock-pot on low for 12 hours.
3. Once done remove the fat on top. And shred with a fork. But it should be so tender it falls apart. 
4. Serve on a bun. Enjoy. 

Not yo mamas 7up cake with 7up glaze

My grandmother used to make well not used to, but she's how I first experienced 7up cake. We used to have one for Thanksgiving or Christmas and any special occasions like that. Then over at my mother's bakery where we made 7-Up cakes on occasions as well special order. Last night I feel like I needed that again so I decide to make a 7-Up cake BUT why not make it better with a glaze!!!! Enjoy and.....Eat on!!!

Ingredients

• 3 sticks butter, softened
• 3 C sugar
• 5 eggs
• 3 C cake flour
• 2 T lemon extract
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 3/4 C seven-up at room temperature
• Glaze
• 3 cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
• 2 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 to 4 Tablespoons 7-UP 
• 
  
• Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• In large bowl, cream butter.
• Slowly add sugar & cream together until fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition,.
• Slowly add flour & mix well, until smooth.
• Stir in lemon, vanilla, & seven-up.
• Pour batter into a well-greased bundt pan.
• Bake 90 mins or until done.
• Cool before pouring on glaze and cutting.

Sundried tomato pasta with spicy shrimp

INGREDIENTS

A box of thin spaghetti
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained and sliced

1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
1 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 1/2lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 cup cooking white wine or white wine
Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

Cook spaghetti according to directions. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. In a pan over medium heat, saute sun-dried tomatoes and garlic in about a tablespoon of EVOO. Cook for about two minutes. Add in chili flakes and saute for another minute. Add shrimp and saute for 3 minutes. Pour cooking wine(or white wine) into the pan. Then add basil and parsley and let shrimp cook further for five minutes.Toss in cooked pasta and stir well. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving.

Garlic mozzarella pull apart bread

Ingredients

20 frozen white dinner rolls(I used Rhodes but you can use your favorite)

½ C butter, melted

1 C shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1 tsp dry parsley flakes

1½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp Italian seasoning

½ tsp onion powder

Bundt cake pan

Directions

Let the 20 rolls sit out at room temp for about 40-50mins. 

Then take kitchen sheers or scisors(make sure they're clean...lol) and cut each rol in half. 

Melt the butter. Pour over rolls add all seasonings and 1/2 cup of cheese. Mix this together with your hands. DONT WORRY ABOUT DOUGH STICKING!! 

Spray bundt with nonstick spray. Pull dough apart if sticking(gently) and fill your  bundt with the rolls in a circular direction. Stacking rolls on top of each other and filling spaces. 

Once this is complete top with rest of cheese. Let this sit for about an hour to an hour and a half to double in size. 

CHEAT ALERT: I am very impatient sometimes more so when it comes to wanting to taste my goodies...so I got very restless after letting rest for 30 mins and I preheated my oven to the lowest setting and put the rolls in there while in preheated with oven door cracked...once done preheating I turned the oven off and closed the door. I kept oven light on and kept watch as the dough rose!! 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 mins or until golden. Flip out if serving platter and enjoy.....but be careful because they're hot nd anxious hands will be burned!!!!

Honey Butter Rolls

The best rolls ever, honestly they don't last for any leftovers!!! You can either do this by hand or bread machine. Easy to make!! Enjoy....and Eat on. 

MANUALLY:

1 cup lukewarm milk

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

2 tblsp honey

3.5 cups all purpose flour 

1 tsp salt 

2 1/4 tsp yeast

1. Pour milk into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the top; wait 5 to 10 minutes, or until yeast is foamy. If it doesn't foam then your yeast is "dead", and you need new yeast. This is proofing.
2. Add the eggs, oil, honey, salt, and whisk to combine.
3. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate the flour. Dough will be thick, lumpy, bumpy, and not smooth. This is okay. Make a ball with the dough in the center of the bowl. Cover bowl with plasticwrap or a clean towel and place in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled about 2 hours.
4. Punch dough down, remove it from bowl, and turn it out onto a well-floured surface. Knead it only as necessary to shape it into balls.
5. Place balls of dough in a sprayed pie plate or baking pan....depending on amount you're making. They can be close to each other, but not too close, 
6. Cover baking dish with plasticwrap or the towel and allow rolls to rise in a warm, draft-free environment for about 30 minutes, until almost doubled in size. 
7. Preheat oven to 350F.
8. Bake until golden brown.
9. Melt 1/4 cup and 2 tblsp of honey. Brush tops with this once done baking. 

HONEY BUTTER RECIPE

3/4 cup butter, room temp

1/4 cup honey

Mix together and refrigerate until necessary. 

BREAD MACHINE

PUT ALL INGREDIENTS INTO BREAD MACHIME IN THAT ORDER. SET ON DOUGH SETTING AND LET THE MACHINE DO ITS JOB. ONCE DONE START WITH DIRECTION 4. 

Cheese ravioli with spicy sundried tomato cream sauce

One day there was no food in the house.....no food at all!!! And I was dying of hunger but because it was Sunday I couldn't go to the store, we are LDS(Mormon) and all I kept thinking was I would have to eat...dun dun dunnnnn, OATMEAL!!!!! I opened the freezer and there it was pasta..YES!!! And I know we had sausage!! So here it is my Sunday no store last of the fridge ingredients meal!!!! Eat on....and ENJOY!!! 

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 pound do your favorite sausage, sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1 pkg of frozen cheese ravioli 

• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat and sauté the sausage. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add tomatoes, cream, and crushed red pepper; simmer over medium heat 2 minutes. 

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm. Stir occasionally. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot. Add sauce and cheese and toss to coat. Add enough reserved cooking liquid to pasta to moisten if dry. Season with salt and pepper.

Tropical Sorbet

My husband and I watched an episode of "Good Eats" last night and Alton Brown was talking about the different ways that you could use melons and one way was in a sorbet. And this automatically made me want a sorbet or sherbet or really anything in that area of food!!! So today I used some frozen  tropical mixed fruits to make some sorbet. This fruit mix had pineapples, peaches, strawberries an mangoes. You could use a blender for this or for a smoother consistency your ice cream maker. So ill give you two separate directions for blender and ice cream maker. ENJOY....and Eat on!!

Ingredients 

4 cups mixture of fruits, frozen if using blender and fresh if using ice cream mixture

2/3 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Pinch of salt 

Directions

If using blender, blend the first two cups of frozen fruit and then add next two cups. Add water, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Blend until smooth consistency. Place into a container and cover with plastic wrap, making sure it's completely covered and no air can enter. Then cover with lid and freeze for 2 hours.

If using ice cream maker: peel your fruits and place all ingredients into blender and liquefy. Place liquid in a container and chill for 2-3 hours. One chilled follow your ice cream manufacture directions for sorbet. Place in container and cover with plastic wrap like above, cover with lid and freeze. 

Jerk Chicken

Ingredients

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

2 Tbsp dark rum or rum extract

2 scotch bonnet peppers (or habaneros, or anchos, or jalapeños), with seeds, chopped1 onion, chopped 

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

4 teaspoons ground allspice

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

4 teaspoons ground nutmeg

4 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons molasses1 roasting chicken, cut in half, lengthwise OR 3-4lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4cup  lime juice

1/4cup lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Put vinegar, rum, hot peppers, onion, olive oil, salt, pepper, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and molasses into a blender. Pulse until mostly smooth. Place chicken in a large freezer bag. Pour lime and lemon juice over the chicken and coat well. Add the jerk paste to the chicken pieces and coat well. Seal the bag. Refrigerate overnight. Preheat grill to medium high. Place chicken halves, skin side down on the grill if using a whole chicken. Cover and grill. Turn the chickens occasionally and baste with marinade. The chicken is done when the juices run clear. Loosely cover with foil to keep warm and let stand 10 minutes to bring juices back into chicken. 

We serve this with fresh mangoes and rice. 

Dulce de Leche and banana "egg rolls"

There are really no words about this dessert besides......WHY NOT?!?! I mean lets wrap something sweet into egg roll wrappers, fry, add powder sugar and top it with chocolate.....who wouldn't LOVE THAT!!! ENJOY......and Eat on!!! 

Ingredients:

Egg roll wrappers

5-6 bananas

Dulce de Leche 

Powdered sugar

Chocolate sauce

Veg. Oil 

Heat oil in a frying pan. Cut the banana in half, and then slice each half in half down the middle. Place about 1 1/2 tsp of the dulce de leche on the wrapper top with banana and fold wrapper. Lightly wet the edges of the wrapper so it sticks together and holds in place. Fry the spring rolls in the oil until golden and crispy. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and drizzle with chocolate sauce. 

Chicken "Shawarma"

In the city that my parents live in here is a Greek restaurant that I'm in LOVE with but my parents live 4.5 hours away....wah wahhhh....so you can I shine I'm getting to eat there often. BUT I did work there during m Senior year in high school and I remember the process!!! So I decided to see if I could remember the recipe after 11 years....and it was fantastic!!!!! Now technically it's not a Shawarma because I'm not layering chicken and grilling on a vertical spit but HEY who cares as long as it tastes DELICIOUS!!!!!! ENJOY.....and Eat on!!!!

EASY GREEK VINAIGRETTE: 

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 cup Fresh Lemon Juice

1 Clove Garlic, pressed

1 teaspoon  Dried Oregano Leaves

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt 

4-5 turns of Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Measure out all ingredients and add to a salad dressing container or jar. Shake. Store salad dressing in the fridge. Always shake before serving!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp allspice
• 3/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of cayenne
• Salt and black pepper
• 4-5 metal skewers

Slice the chicken breasts into 3-4 pieces each. Place them in a marinating dish or large ziplock. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, the spices, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  Pour the marinade over the chicken pieces. Stir with a spoon till all the chicken pieces are evenly coated in the marinade. Cover the marinating dish with foil if using a bowl. Place chicken in the refrigerator and let it marinate at least 1-2 hours, OR even better overnight if possible. Preheat to grill to medium heat. Fold pieces of marinated chicken pieces in half a place on skewers. Cook the chicken for about 20 minutes, giving a quarter turn every 5 minutes, until cooked through. Once done remove from grill and cover with foil and let it rest!!! Serve with hummus, pita and a simple Greek salad!!!