Pickled Red Beet Eggs

I love these eggs!!!  My mom makes them every Easter and that's pretty much the only time I have them. Every once in awhile I see them on top of a salad at a few local restaurants. The Hawks Club has them on their menu as a side dish but the problem there is you have to choose the eggs or the beets ...they don't come together (strange right?  Like separating a married couple). I decided this week that I would try making my own. WOW!  They turned out so good!!  My husband and daughter won't even try them. They don't know what they're missing.  I guess you either love them or hate them. I thought I would blog the recipe because most people who grew up in PA will enjoy them and they're super easy to make. Enjoy!!

12 eggs, hard boiled* and peeled
2 cans (15 oz size) sliced red beets
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Place eggs in a large container or bowl.  In a medium saucepan combine beets, beet juice, vinegar, sugar and salt.  Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over eggs. Allow to cool, top with a lid. Refrigerate for at least 3 days before serving.

*to make perfect hard boiled eggs ...place eggs in a pot and add water until they are just covered.  Bring to a rapid boil. Top with a lid, turn off the heat and time for 15 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water. Peel immediately. Note: eggs that have been in your refrigerator for a week or more will peel much easier vs fresh eggs.

 

Thai Peanut Noodle Salad

This recipe has a ton of flavor from the red curry paste.  I added 2 extra teaspoons of the paste as well as a few teaspoons of siracha to spice things up.  Make sure you purchase THAI curry (do not use Indian curry paste!).  This pasta is suggested to be served cold.  I skipped the step of running cold water over my pasta and returned the pasta & sauce to the pan with the chicken and tossed everything together and served it hot.  Either way, it is delicious!!  

INGREDIENTS (makes 4 servings)
8 oz uncooked angel hair pasta
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp water
4 tsp Thai red curry paste
1 medium red bell pepper
3 green onions
1 cup dry-roasted salted peanuts
1 cup fresh cilantro
8 chicken tenders (1 lb chicken, sliced chicken breasts can be substituted

DIRECTIONS
1.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and rinse with cold water.

2.  Meanwhile, for sauce, combine peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, water and curry paste; whisk well.  Set aside 1/4 cup of the sauce in a separate bowl.

3.  For salad, coarsely chop the bell pepper.

4.  Thinly slice the green onions.  Set aside 2 tbsp green onions for garnish.

5.  Add bell pepper, green onions and sauce to the pasta; mix well.

6.  Heat pan over medium heat for 5 minutes.  Finely chop peanuts & cilantro.  Place peanuts & cilantro in a coating tray and mix well.

7.  Spray pan with canola oil.  Add chicken to pan and cook 3-5 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165'F, turning once.

8.  Remove chicken from pan and add to reserved sauce; toss to coat.  Press chicken into peanut mixture.  Serve chicken with salad; garnish with reserved green onions.

From Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner, Volume 3

Bailey's Cookies & Cream Parfaits

You may have seen this recipe floating around Facebook.  When it came across the screen on my phone I just had to try it!  And yes, it is as good as it looks & sounds. Recipe says it makes 3 parfaits ... I made 6 small in tiny juice glasses.

INGREDIENTS
15 oreo cookies, crushed
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips)
1/2 cup milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup Bailey's, chilled
1/4 cup powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS
1.  Place the chocolate in a bowl. Steam milk in the microwave for about a minute on high and then pour over the chocolate.  Stir until chocolate is dissolved and then let sit until room temperature.  

2.  Using a stand mixer, add heavy cream, Bailey's and powered sugar to bowl.  Beat on high 5-7 or until stiff peaks begin to form.

3.  Divide cream mixture in half.  The first half of the whipped cream will be left alone and is ready to use in the parfait.  The second half will be mixed with the chocolate.  When ready, slowly add the chocolate mixture over this half of the whipped cream, gently (yet thoroughly) folding them together until completely mixed.

4.  To assemble the parfaits;  Using a pastry bag (or just a spoon), add layers of the cream and crushed cookies.  I layered chocolate, then cream, then cookies and repeated finally topping with a few extra cookie crumbs.

5.  Parfaits can be served immediately or If you would like the chocolate layer to be firmer, chill parfaits for 2-3 hours before serving.



Recipe from http://homemadehooplah.com/recipes/baileys-cookies-cream-parfaits/

Jamaican Coconut Shrimp

All I can say about this recipe is WOW!  I have never had coconut shrimp better than this. The jerk seasoning underneath the coconut gives a spicy flavor and the rice it is served over is just so flavorful and good.  We loved this at our house and will be making it again soon.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

1 cup converted long grain rice

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

16 extra large shrimp (I increased this and used 6 Gulf shrimp per person)

2 tbsp Jamaican Jerk Rub

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 egg whites

1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, divided

1/2 small red bell pepper

1 can (8 oz) pineapple tidbits, drained

DIRECTIONS

1.  For the pineapple rice, combine rice, 2 cups water, salt & pepper and cook according to the rice package instructions.  

2.  Meanwhile, cut each shrimp down the back, from neck to tail, almost all the way through.  Ease open with fingers.

3.  Combine shrimp and rub in large bowl; mix well to coat.

4.  Add cornstarch to the bowl; mix well.  Beat egg whites until frothy and add to bowl; mix until throughly combined.

5.  Place coconut into coating tray.  Press and lightly flatten shrimp into the coconut, coating evenly.

6.  Heat oil in skillet over medium heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering.

7.  Add shrimp to skillet.  Cook 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown.

8.  Meanwhile chop the cilantro; set aside 1 tbsp for garnish.  Chop the bell pepper.

9.  Add remaining cilantro, bell pepper and pineapple to rice; mix well (I added a little extra pineapple as well as some of the juice). Serve shrimp over pineapple rice and garish with reserved cilantro.

Recipe from Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner, Volume 3

Swedish-Style Turkey Meatballs

You don't have to travel to a Swedish furniture store for meatballs...you can make them in your own kitchen!  Makes 20-24 meatballs. I served mine over egg noodles.

INGREDIENTS
1 medium onion, chopped finely
2 slices day-old french bread (1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs)
1 lb ground turkey (my package had 1.2 lbs and that worked fine)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon allspice (if you dont have allspice, this is a combination of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 can beef broth (14 oz)
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS
1) Finely chop onion* and bread.  Combine onion, bread, crumbs, turkey, egg, allspice, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl.  Mix gently but thoroughly.  Using a rounded scoop, form turkey mixture into meatballs about 1 1/2" round.  Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat for 1-3 minutes.  Place meatballs in skillet; cook 6-8 minutes or until browned, turning once. Remove from skillet and set aside.

2) Add flour and butter to skillet, whisking to form a smooth paste.  Slowly add broth and cream, stirring constantly; cook 1-2 minutes or until sauce comes to a simmer.  Return meatballs to skillet; cook covered 4-5 minutes or until meatballs are no longer pink in the centers.

*I think the next time I make these I will saute my onions a little first.  I found that they did not cook completely  through.

Recipe from Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner, Volume 2

Saltine Toffee

I keep seeing recipes for this pop up all over my Facebook newsfeed.  I have been wanting to try this for a long time and just never got around to it.  I finally had time last night and WOW so glad I made it because its DELICIOUS!!!  and soooooo very, very EASY!!  You should definitely add this to your Christmas cookie list this year!  Hope you enjoy it!

INGREDIENTS
30-40 Saltine Crackers (depends on the size of your pan)
1 cup salted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
makes 18-24 servings

DIRECTIONS
1.)  Preheat oven to 350'F.  Line a cookie sheet (one with sides) or a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper.

2.) Arrange the saltine crackers in a single layer on the bottom of the pan. Break the crackers in half if necessary to fill in around the edges.

3.)  Place butter and brown sugar in a small sauce pan. Cook over medium heat stirring until the butter melts and all the brown sugar dissolves.  Bring to a boil and allow to boil softly for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and immediately spread evenly over the saltine crackers.

4.)  Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until bubbling. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Allow the chocolate chips to soften for a minute or two and then spread the chocolate evenly over the top.

5.) Optional:  Sprinkle with coarse salt (or chopped nuts or sprinkles).

6.)  Cool at room temperature for 15-30 minutes and then cool in the refrigerator for an hour or until the chocolate is set (I put mine the freezer for 15 minutes to speed up the process).

7.)  Break into pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker (she has some great photos of each step of this recipe on her website)

Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

There's a ton of recipes online for chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips and peanut butter cookies with peanut butter chips but what about a vanilla cookie with peanut butter chips??  Have you ever visited Chocolate World?  They have a bakery there that sells lots of delicious desserts and one of the items is the vanilla cookie with peanut butter chips and it is by far my favorite!  So, my mission today was to recreate my favorite Chocolate World cookie.  It is not exactly the same but I got pretty darn close!! They're delicious!  My daughter loves them so I say it was a success.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine, room temp
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 package peanut butter chips

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. Using an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips.  Refrigerate 1 hour.  

3. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

4. Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.

5. Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (I took mine out at 16 minutes) rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a metal spatula.

Makes about 30 cookies.   

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies