Making Snack time Fun, Sushi Treats??!

Ok folks, there is always an opportunity to make something  to bring to a potluck, party, or dinner. I love it when you can make that time fun. I try to think of ways to make finger foods fun and this was something I actually made up many years ago when we were sending treats to our deployed Marines.
Let me introduce you to my famous Sushi Treats!

Yes indeed, these are no ordinary sushi's, these are sweet and gooey and delicious. This is where you take a rice crispy treat and get creative with it. Sushi treats are simply rice crispy treats, fruit roll ups and rainbow colored twizzlers packaged in the same fashion as your real life California roll.

Entertaining with these yummy morsels is not only pretty easy but it is definitely fun to eat. Making them is not as complicated as you may like but it does take a couple steps so lets go over what you will need.

Darlene's Sushi Treats 

1 batch of rice krispy treats (marshmallow's, butter, rice krispies.)
1 box of fruit roll ups (NOT fruit by the foot)
1 Package of Twizzlers (rainbow colored is preferred) 

That's all you need to make this yummy treat. Assembly is just a few steps so let me go over that with you.
1. make your batch of rice krispy treats. Move quickly once it is done as to not let the rice Krispys get to hard.
2. unwrap and lay out several of your fruit roll ups. Set up a work space that gives you some room to work. I lay out about six of these roll ups and have them flat and ready. Be careful to not get them stuck to the counter. I put them on my butcher block and they don't stick but some counter types will stick to them so use something that wont be as sticky (one year it was such a hot summer I had to put the roll ups in the refrigerator so that they wouldn't get all mushy and sticky.) so just use your best judgment. 
3. choose 3 colors at a time of your twizzlers. Cut them to be the same length as your fruit roll up then lay them right next to it so they are ready to use. 
4. Now you are set to assemble. The rice Krispies can be sticky and hot to work with so please be careful. It should have cooled enough for you to work with it by this point. I use crisco on my hands to keep them from getting sticky but you can also use water, butter, or whatever will work for you. 
Take a handful of rice Krispy treat and place it on top of your fruit roll up. Pat it down like you are filling up real sushi with rice. Make a very thin layer of rice Krispy. If it is too thick you cannot roll it up. 
5. Next place your three twizzlers in the center of the roll up on top of the Krispies. 
6. Then it's time to roll. Take the end nearest to you and slowly roll it up as tight as you can. Once your roll is all together, squeeze the whole rolls with your hands tightening and compacting the roll so that everything sticks together inside. Continue with the rest of the rolls you have laid out and use up, set out more roll ups and continue until you have used all your roll ups. 
7. Once you are done rolling it is time to cut. I again use crisco on my knife as to keep it from sticking too the Krispy treats, but butter or kitchen spray will work. Make sure your knife is sharp and I start by cutting off the end and put it aside. (this is perfect for chef tasting to make sure they are as delicious as they should be, it might take you a few tests to be really really sure.. hee hee) Then I simply cut them into sushi sized pieces and lay them on a plate. 

You can have a lot of fun with these. When I first arrived in Japan, I made these for a couple of friends. I placed them on a long plate that sushi would normally go on. I wrapped them with a ribbon and even included a set of chopsticks for fun. These are so fun to put together and present that your options are endless.

So next time you are wondering what they heck you can bring to the next bake sale or pot luck, Get creative! Put together some sushi treats and let the fun begin. And remember, Always make it so good that they are Going Back for Seconds!

Chilly Means Chili

Alright so we have had some pretty chilly weather here in Iwakuni and even had a snow day! For this California girl that was crazy and cold. Well tis the season for soups and Chili on cold winter days. But what about all that fat that comes with a nice slow cooked chili. Well since I was trying to eat a bit better I went with a new Turkey Chili recipe and it turned out great.

Now I love to make my chili in the crock pot. I feel like the flavors have lots of time to merge together and make one wonderful pot of flavor. So I brought out the crock pot and got to work. For this chili, I bought some ground turkey and instead of red beans I bought some white beans (in a can) and started my lighter version of chili for that snowy day.

Okay for this recipe you will need the following.

2 pounds ground turkey
3 cans white beans
1 lg can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 Jalapeno pepper finely chopped
2 to 3 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt n pepper to taste
1 tbsp oil

Alright, let's get cooking! 1. So first, chop your onion up really fine. Put your tbsp of oil in a large saute pan and start cooking your onions and garlic. Add in your Jalapeno at this point as well.
2. Then add to this your ground turkey. Be sure to cook your ground turkey good and get it to brown a bit. Browning your ground turkey gives it more flavor and depth. Additionally, be sure to season each layer with salt and pepper. No one wants bland food and this will keep your flavors alive.
3. At the point the meat was done, I added the spices in the meat and stir it around. I also add the tomato paste and brown it a bit with this mixture. After about a minute you can add in about a cup of your chicken stock and be sure to mix everything up really good.
4. I then start putting ingredients into the crock pot. I open and rinse the canned beans and add them as well as the crushed tomatoes and then add the rest of my chicken stock to a decent consistency. I added about 2 cups.
5. Stir it up and cook it on low for 8 hours or high for about 4 or 5.
Then you are done.

You can jazz it up with some avocado on top or eat with some tortilla chips but I was going for healthy so didn't add any cheese or anything and it was really good and a bit more healthy.

Now my regular chili is definitely to die for but not at all healthy. So I was very please with the turkey chili results and the house was smelling good as it bubbled away in the crock pot. Next time your body is cold and your tummy wants warmth, put on a crock pot of healthy chili and satisfy that need. Remember folks, Always make it so good the are Going back for seconds!

Cupcakes- Honey Jack Baking?

Hi again. I am switching today's blog up a bit due to popular demand. I was going to show you a great Jam recipe, but the vote is out and Honey Jack Cupcakes win's the blog post. Now I don't do a whole lot of baking, it's not where my skills shine, but I do have a recipe or two that are just on point, and Honey Jack Cupcakes is one of them.

So you all have heard of Jack Daniels Whiskey I would assume right? Well how many of you have heard of Honey Jack Daniels? And how many of you have thought to bake with it? Well my husband loves honey jack and one day I stumbled upon this recipe and had to make it. This weekend I made these cupcakes and they did not disappoint.

Now these cupcakes are 100%  homemade and pretty easy to put together. I am a boxed cake kind of baker so I initially didn't think this would be something I could pull off but I do every time and they are so yummy. I found this recipe on Pinterest, there are several variations of this recipe for you to choose from and experiment. But this is the version I use to whip up these bundles of goodness.  Each layer of this cupcake is spiked with a bit of Honey Jack making them oh so sweet and delicious.

Honey Jack Cupcakes

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Serves: One dozen cupcakes

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 1½ cups flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1¼ tsp baking powder
• 3 Tbsp Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey
• 3 Tbsp Milk
• Cupcake liners

 Drizzle:

• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

 Buttercream Frosting:

• 1½ cup butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey
• ¼ cup heavy cream (as much as needed to get correct consistency)

To Make the Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla and mix just to incorporate.
4. Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Add to the wet mixture and beat until just combined.
5. Add the whiskey and milk until just combined.
6. Line 12 muffin cups with cupcake liners and divide batter evenly into cups; approximately ⅔ full for each cup.
7. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes; test with a toothpick; the top will be firm so make sure the inside is cooked through.
8. Cool completely on a wire cake cooling rack before frosting.

To Make the Drizzle:

1. Add all ingredients together in a small pan, bring to a boil and boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool before drizzling on cupcakes.

To Make the Buttercream Frosting:

1. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar.
2. Add the vanilla and Jack Daniels Honey and combine thoroughly.
3. Add the cream a Tbsp at a time until your frosting is very light and fluffy and the correct consistency.
4. Using a large serrated icing tip, pipe the frosting onto cupcakes.
5. Garnish with the Boozy Drizzle.

There you have it folks. The not so secret recipe for my Honey Jack cupcakes. I dont keep many of my cooking techniques secret so you can always ask how I made something and I will share. I have had a busy couple days and have much to share with you but until next time, Make it so good they are Going back for Seconds!

Hey, I can make that!

Alright, today I was determine to knock out a project I have been wanting to do since we arrived in Japan. With our furniture, we packed two new dog beds for our dogs so they would have fresh new beds when they got here. The beds are a durable Kong brand and looks like they will last a while. The problem is, they dont look very warm. They look great for summer, which is when we bought them but not so much for the cold winter and my cold Japanese house. So I set off to make my own covers for these beds. I wanted something that was inexpensive and would be warm.

Here in japan we have stores called Daiso. They are a 100¥ stores or like in the US, it's a dollar store. They have a ton of really neat things and you can buy just about anything from them. Some items cost a bit more than a hundred yen, but when it does it is stated so on the tag. Well in this store they sell fleece blankets for 200¥ . I bought four of these blankets the other day as well as a packet of snaps and brought them home.

The blankets are not your normal size for the fleece blankets we may get at Walmart during Christmas. They are a bit smaller and I had to lay them out on top of the dog bed to see the size and how many I may need to make this bed. Now, I am not a seamstress or have any sewing training what's so ever. I just stitch things together on my sewing machine from time to time and make Bandanna's for the dogs to wear. So this is totally an "Anyone can do this" project.  There were no measuring tapes or fancy stitching. There was no cutting involved either. I simply laid them out and pinned them where I needed to stitch and went to stitching. Let's take a look:

Okay, so one of these blankets fits halfway across this bed and gives me room on all ends for stitching. So I then laid the next one down to see if two on each side would do the trick.

Ok two on this side looks great to I went to stitching. Now, if I was a skilled seamstress like my cousin Nadine, I would have probably laid things out, pinned measured etc. But I grabbed two pieces and ran to the sewing room and started attaching one side. I got one side put together before I realized I should have at least laid it out on the floor to make sure I have everything right. Yup, I had it wrong and had to take out the stitches for a whole side. THEN I laid it out and made sure to attach the right sides. Leave it to me. but I managed it. I stitched each side together, then the two different sides I joined. Mind you, be sure to have it turned inside out as you stitch so that you dont show off your horrible sewing skills. I left one side open and it was time for the snaps. I want to be able to take this off and wash it. Plus when summer does come, these beds will feel good without the warm fleece on them. So removable was a must.

Have you ever sewed snaps on something. Well I haven't. and that was interesting as well. Velcro will work great as well if you can get some. If you do, you can either sew a strip on the end or several spaced out pieces and there you have it done. For me, I found snaps so I figured I would sew them on and it would serve the purpose. Well, as long as you sew them on correctly. That took a couple tries to figure out and I finally got the snaps on and slid this sucker onto the dog bed. Ta Da. For a grand total of $7.66 I have a warm, fuzzy dog bed cover for my dog and I can take it off and wash it as needed. To replace it will be easy and I can even change it to match decor or the seasons.

Ok, down in the living room in the corner and all ready for some doggie cuddles, this dog bed took me less than an hour to put together and was a very cheap alternative to buying a new bed or even a new bed cover. I believe this will help the dogs beds last a lot longer this year and I am excited to be able to change them out for seasons. Halloween ones or even Christmas ones next year. Next time your thinking "Hey, I can make that" Do it! There are so many things that are easier than we think.

For tomorrows agenda, I am going to rewind a month and talk about something new I tried this holiday season, Jam, and share great recipe that I used to make this sweet treat. Until next time. Don't be afraid to try something new! And always make it so good they are going back for seconds!

Holiday Left Overs

Ok, so the holidays are over and for me, that is when the fun gets started. Left overs are my favorite part of the holiday meals. On thanksgiving, it's turkey pot pie and Turkey soup. But today let's talk about Christmas. This Christmas we had a ham as well as turkey. We fed about 10 Marines for dinner and still had a substantial amount of food left. As I put away these leftovers and trimmed off the ham, I decided I was keeping this ham bone. There was plenty of meat left on this bone and the soup I could make with it would be delicious. So in the freezer it went until I could get through the new year and come up with my soup.

Soup! Yes, one of my most favorite things to cook is soup. To me, it's making something out of nothing. A chance to slowly build flavors and make a pot of water, a masterpiece! So upon thinking about this ham bone in my freezer, the winner was Pea Soup.

I remember it was a dish that my dad loved to eat. There was always a can of Andersen's Pea Soup in our pantry and it was always for dad.  Pea soup was not one that was on my list of favorites when I was a kid but I slowly came to realize that I could make it exactly how I wanted it and then would indeed love it. So the flavor building began.

Pea soup, as so many other soups, really almost makes itself. Buy some split peas from the store. Get a ham bone, and any vegetables you want to include and it's a win. For me The items I used in making this soup are; 
     - 1 pound bag of split peas
     - 1 medium onion
     - 2 or 3 lg carrots
     - Ham bone with ham meat

Ok, Let's get down to business. Take that frozen ham bone out and get it in a large soup pot. I filled the pot with water and got it cooking on high. I added half the onion to help flavor the water. Almost every soup I make included an onion to flavor. A pinch or two of salt and a couple dashes of garlic powder and let that ham cook and boil.

After about 30 mins of boiling, the ham came out of the water and the Water... Was Saved. You need this flavor for your soup. Many people simply put the ham bone in the same water as the peas and let it cook but I wanted to cut the ham off of it and cube it for the soup making yummy bite sized pieced of ham to enjoy in that green goodness.

Next I diced up half the onion and peeled and cubed the carrot and added a tablespoon of olive oil to a soup pot and then sauteed those vegetables until they were tender. At that point, measure out the amount of water needed for the split peas, the bag says 6 cups. So I took six cups of the saved ham water and added it along with the split peas that I had rinsed prior.

I cut cubes of ham off of the ham bone and added them to the mixture and it was time to let it bubble away on the stove. Now here's where you can flavor to your taste. This soup will not need a lot of salt because ham is very salty to begin with so be sure to TASTE TASTE TASTE and slowly add your flavors. A little salt, a tbsp of black pepper and a dash of flavors you may like, garlic powder, onion powder, even cayenne pepper can all be added if you want. I just went with a couple shakes of garlic and onion..

Alright, let that puppy cook. Cook it until all the beans have softened and broken up. I keep the ham water the whole time and add some from time to time when the soup is looking thick and I feel like it has more time to cook. Taste during the process so you can add seasonings if needed. Once the peas were all soft and broken up, the soup was done! It really cooked itself. There was little prep to this homemade delight and you just had to babysit and stir it from time to time.

My husband brought some to work to share with another marine and they were in pea soup heaven. It was delicious and took little effort.  In fact the other Marine asked if we could go into business canning that Soup. To me, it was so easy and simple that took me by surprise. I make a lot of soups that are much more involved than this is so heck yes. Now we can all can it!

Next time you are having a ham for dinner, considering keeping that ham bone. It's great for several bean soups as well as this great peas soup that I made.
Always make it so good they're going back for seconds. :)