Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everyone- hope you had a wonderful day!

For Christmas Eve I decided to start a new tradition- gingerbread chocolate chip pancakes. Check it out...

1 1/2 C flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C light molasses
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 C milk
8 tsp cooking oil
3 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
2 egg whites, beaten until stiff
1/2 + chocolate chips

1- Combine ingredients in order listed. Fold in the egg whites last.
2- Pour onto a lightly greased griddle. Sprinkle with a few chocolate chips
3- Brown on both sides
4- Serve with syrup, cream cheese, jam or yogurt

Blueberry Chocolate Chip Muffins with Lemon Glaze

These are a great morning treat- the lemon glaze really sets off the blueberry flavor, and the hint of chocolate makes this muffin every girl's best friend!


Muffins:
1/2 C butter (1 cube)
1 C sugar
2 Eggs
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 C sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 C frozen blueberries
1/3 C mini chocolate chips

1- In a medium bowl cream together butter, sugar and eggs
2- In a separate bowl stir together the baking powder and flour. Add to cream mixture.
3- Then add sour cream and vanilla. Mix well.
4- Stir in (by hand) the blueberries and chocolate chips.

Lemon Glaze:

1 C sugar
1/8 C cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
1 C water
1/2 C butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1. Put sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Stir until well blended, then add water.
2. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Stir constantly.
3. Remove from heat and stir in butter and lemon. Continue stirring until butter is melted and mixture in creamy.

Pour a small amount over each muffin.

Chicken Teriyaki & Ginger Carrot Slaw

Sorry I don't have a picture of this.... we downed it before I could snap one. This was a great crock pot dish for Sunday afternoon.

Chicken Teriyaki

4 frozen chicken breasts
1 C water
1 tsp beef bouillon
3 T brown sugar
1/3 C soy sauce
2 T cornstarch (mixed in a small amount of water to form a paste)
1 T Montreal Chicken Seasoning

1. Place frozen chicken breasts in greased crock pot. (can be fresh just decrease cooking time)

2. Pour water into a medium pot. Bring to a boil. Add bouillon and stir until dissolved. Mix in sugar and soy sauce, then add cornstarch paste slowly. Continue boiling and stirring mixture until it thickens.

3. Pour over chicken in Crock pot. Sprinkle with Montreal Chicken Seasoning.

4. Cook on high for 4 hours

5. Remove chicken and pour liquid through a sieve to remove the clumps. Serve chicken with rice and sauce.

Ginger -Carrot Slaw (This is my version of a Rachel Ray Recipe)

1/2 small cabbage
1 bunch green onions
4 large carrots (shred into about 2 cups)
1 T ground ginger
1/4 C honey
3 T cider vinegar
2 T vegetable oil
salt and pepper

1. Cut the cabbage into quarters and remove the core. Shred 1/2 of the cabbage. Set aside.
Cut the scallions into long thin strips and shred the carrots. (This can all be done ahead of time).

2. Drizzle the honey into a small bowl. Add the vinegar and stir until combined.

3. Heat 2 T of vegetable oil in a hot skillet. Add the carrots and the ginger powder and stir fry for 4 minutes. Add the cabbage for 4 more minutes and then the onions for one more minute. The vegetables should end up a little dry and crispy. Add the honey/vinegar mixture and cook for another minute so the veggies can soak up the liquid. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with the chicken and rice.

Chicken & Corn Enchiladas

Try this unique blend of corn, chicken and corn tortillas. You can serve this enchilada style casserole with Salsa if you prefer, but I found that the salsa masked the flavor of the corn.

6 corn tortillas
1 T butter
3 green onions
2 chicken breasts- cut into bite size pieces
1 T Montreal Chicken Seasoning
1/2 T Season All
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 Can yellow corn, drained
1/4 C water
1 Cup Sour cream
1/2 C shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 C shredded Pepper Jack cheese

Melt butter in pan. Add onions, chicken and all spices. Saute until chicken is no longer pink. Add corn and water. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add sour cream and pepper jack cheese.

Cut the corn tortillas in half and lay on the bottom of a greased 8x8 casserole dish so that the entire dish is covered. Spread half of corn mixture on top. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Repeat layer ending with cheese top.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Or (if you are in a hurry), microwave uncovered for 10 minutes on high.

Serve with sour cream and cilantro.

Welcome, Welcome!

Welcome to Emily's Corner!

I never use to be able to cook! Before I met my husband (and even for a while afterwards) cooking meant opening a can of tuna or mixing up a box of mac & cheese. I couldn't even make a decent grilled cheese sandwich without burning it (sorry honey!)

With some much needed help from some friends, I finally figured out how to cook, and since then I have come to love it! I love experimenting in the kitchen and creating new scrumptious things to eat. So, since I have so much spare time (ha ha!) between chasing two kids, running a household, volunteering in my church, and finishing my bachelors degree, I have decided to start this blog. I figure I need to have a place to write down all of the exciting things I create. Sometimes I will take a well loved recipe and tweak it to make it my own. When I do, I'll try to give a link to the original so you can check it out too.

I'll also love to find great deals and am slightly obsessed with coupons. So watch for random amazing deals that I find and want to pass along, and some hints for how to save with coupons.

Enjoy!

~Emily

Appetizer party

One of my friends had a fabulous idea- throw an appetizer party. She invited over girls from the neighborhood and we all brought fun appetizers to share. Don't we all love appetizers? Try these at your next party, they are sure to be a hit!

Thai Chicken Satay

2 Chicken breasts cut into long strips

1/2 tsp .ground cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

2 T. rice vinegar

1.Mix the spices together and set aside.

2. Place the chicken strips into a shallow bowl, or pie pan. Drizzle with rice vinegar (you can add a little more if you need), then stir in the spices.

3. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.

4. Thread onto skewers.

5. Place skewers 3-4 at a time onto a George Foreman grill that has been sprayed with cooking spray. (You can also use a regular grill, or a grill pan if you have one.)

6.Cook until juices run clear, about 5 minutes in the George Foreman.

- Serve warm with dipping sauces.

Peanut Dipping Sauce

3 T. creamy peanut butter

2 T. soy sauce

2 T. rice vinegar

1 T. Sugar

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp chili powder (more or less depending on your spice level)

1/4 C water

1. In a small sauce pan mix together the ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook 2 minutes to thicken.

Serve at room temperature.

Sweet Cucumber Sauce

1/2 cucumber, seeded and chopped into small cubes

1 T fresh chopped cilantro

6 T rice vinegar

2 T water

1 T sugar (sometimes I make this a little sweeter with 2 T.)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp cornstarch

1.Mix vinegar, water, sugar and salt together in a microwave safe bowl.

2. In a separate bowl mix cornstarch with a small amount of water until the consistency is a bit thicker than whole milk. Add to vinegar mixture.

3. Heat sauce in microwave for 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. This should thicken the sauce up a bit.

4. Stir in cucumbers and cilantro. Serve also at room temperature.

Red Velvet Cake Bites

The original recipe for this came from http://www.bakeralla.com/ (check out the beautiful creations she has come up with)

1 Red Velvet Cake mix (I like Duncan Hines)

1 container cream cheese frosting

6 squares white almond bark (a melting chocolate)

1 cup chocolate chips

1. Bake cake according to directions on the box in any pan size you want

2. Remove cake from pan and place in a large bowl. Using a spoon, or fork break up the cake until it is all crumbs.

3. Melt your frosting in the microwave for about 30 sec. so it is nice and soft. Then mix it into the cake crumbs using the spoon or your hands.

4. Using the spoon, fill each spot in a mini muffin tin, full of the cake mixture. Pat the mixture down with the back of the spoon so it is well packed. You will have some extra, so do two batches, or make some larger sized ones with a regular muffin tin.

5. Cover muffin tin with plastic wrap and place in freezer for a few hours.

6. Meanwhile melt the white almond bark in a microwave safe bowl.

7. Remove the frozen cake bites from the freezer and one at time, dip them into the chocolate. And easy way to do this is by sticking a fork in the the bite and then dipping it into the chocolate. I don't usually dip the bottom, just the top and sides. Place on a plate or silpat baking mat to cool.

8. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave. Pour melted chocolate into a plastic Ziploc bag. Make a very small cut off one corner of the bag. Squeeze bag and drizzle chocolate over the cake bites.

Serve! If there are any leftovers (not likely) store them in the fridge to keep them from falling

apart.