No Bake Raspberry-Lemon Cheesecake

I want to share you guys this easy, fluffy, and yummy dessert.  I first saw it on pinterest.  I had a box of cream cheese that was about to expire, so I had to find something quick to make with it.  I love cheesecake, but sometimes I get tired of it's heaviness.  This is perfect because it's light and not straight-up cream cheese.  Plus, there's no baking involved!  Thanks My Baking Addiction for this No Bake Raspberry-Lemon Cheesecake recipe!

No Bake Raspberry-Lemon Cheesecake (Photo from My Baking Addiction)

Kimchi Fries at CHI'LANTRO (Korean BBQ) food truck

This past weekend, my husband, kids, and I took a short trip to Austin, TX for Caleb's 1st birthday party.  We stayed with our cousin, Phanny (and Lene, but she wasn't there).  Phanny, kept raving about this Korean food truck named CHI'LANTRO.  It's a Korean-Mexican Fusion.  I told her I tried kimchi fries in Dallas, and it was ok.  She said, "NO, You've gotta try this one!  IT IS SOOO GOOD..escpecially drunk. lol."  So I said ok.  We picked up my younger brother, Patrick (who is attending UT), to go with us. 

CHI'LANTRO's Kimchi Fries

We ordered 2 different kinds of kimchi fries (1 beef, 1 pork), some tacos, quesadillas, regular fries, and a burger (hubby's).  Let me tell ya...those kimchi fries were awesome!!! Yum!  They totally outdid the Dallas' Korean BBQ food truck.  We ended up ordering another order of kimchi fries...this time with chicken on it!  Not as good, but still good.  haha


I had leftover quesadillas which I took home.  I just finished it for lunch today.  :)  Next time I go to Austin, I'll surely visit CHI'LANTRO again. 

Uncle Patrick and Alyssa

Phanny and Austin

Crawfish! Crawfish! Crawfish!

A couple weeks ago, we went to our friends house to eat crawfish.  They asked to borrow a small cooler, so I said ok.  They acually asked my husband.  I thought it was for drinks...but I was wrong.  We used my favorite cooler to store cooked crawfish.  At the end of the night, there was one cooler full of crawfish left.  No one wanted to take it home...not even the home-owners where we had the crawfish feast!  So we got stuck with it.

My drunk husband said he would peel them himself...that same night.  I said ok.  After I took a shower, I felt bad that I wasn't helping him.  So we stayed up until 2am (I think) peeling crawfish tails.  We came home late anyway, so it wasn't like we stayed up for hours on end.  Well, after all the crawfish tails were peeled, I HAD to wash the cooler...3 times!  With soap, then bleach, then bleach.  Now it's all clean!!!

Anyhow, I had to do something with all of those crawfish tails.  Just the already-peeled tails alone filled up 1/2 of a gallon ziplock bag!  I ended up cooking Emeril Lagasse's Crawfish and Cream over Pasta and my very own gumbolaya recipe.  They both turned out very good!  It turned out to be a very large portion, though.  I even feed one of my co-worker too!  hehehe

Crawfish & Cream over Pasta and Crawfish Gumbolaya

Beef and Peppers with Noodles

I tried a recipe for Beef with Peppers from The Pioneer Woman's website.  I didn't make mine spicy because Alyssa was eating it too.  The flavor was good, except my beef didn't turn out nice and caramelized-brown like the picture on her website.  :(  I wonder if it was because I cooked all of the beef at once (instead of in thirds, like her direction says to)....I guess I should have been a little more patient.  But I had to rush because Austin was climbing on the wet dish washer, and Alyssa was banging away with a metal spoon on a metal bowl!  And you wonder why my kitchen is so crazy....hehe

My Beef and Peppers with Noodles (not very colorful)

Pioneer Woman's Beef with Peppers (you see how nice and brown hers looks??)

Beef and Peppers with Noodles

(Taken from The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:

• 1-½ lb. flank steak (thinly sliced against grain)
• ½ c. low sodium soy sauce
• 3 tbsp. Sherry
• 2 tbsp. packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger (or 1/2 tbsp. ginger powder)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 whole medium yellow onion, thickly sliced
• 1 whole bell pepper, cored and thickly sliced
• red pepper flakes, for sprinkling
• cilantro leaves
• rice noodles or linguine pasta noodles

Instructions:

1. Mix together soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, and chili paste (or chili oil).  Place sliced beef in the mixture and toss to coat.  Set aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high to high heat.  When it is very hot, throw in the onions and cook for less than a minute.  Remove to a separate plate.
3. Return skillet to flame, allow to reheat, and add bell peppers (and hot pepper/jalapeno if using).  Cook for a minute, tossing, until peppers have brown/black bits but are still firm.  Remove to a plate.
4. Return skillet to heat and allow to get hot.  Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet.  Add 1/3 of the meat mixture, evenly distributing over the surface of the skillet.  Allow to sit for 20 to 30 seconds, then turn with tongs.  Cook for another 30 seconds, then remove to a separate plate.  Repeat with remaining meat until all brown.
5. Reduce heat to low.  Add all meat, onions, and peppers to the skillet and toss to combine.  Pour in remaining sauce (the sauce the meat marinated in*) and stir.  Allow to simmer on low for a few minutes.  Sauce will slowly thicken.  Turn off heat. 
6. Rice Noodles-Boil water.  Then turn off boiling water and throw in noodles.  Stir, then allow noodles to sit in hot water for 8 minutes or so (check package directions to be sure).  Or use linguine and cook al dente. 
7. Drain, then add 1/2 the noodles to stir fry. Toss together & add more noodles to taste.  Add very hot water if needed to thin.  Top with cilantro leaves. Serve immediately.

*Update/Note: you can also whip up an extra batch of liquid if you do not want to use the same liquid you use for the meat.  I made an extra 1/2 batch to add later.

Creamy Sausage Casserole with Biscuits

Today was the Volunteer Breakfast at our school, Parkview Elementary, so I decided to make this Creamy Sausage Casserole with Biscuits from Pillsbury.  I've never made this before, so I was very hesitant about it.  I read the recipe over and over and over again...something that I usually do when I come across a new recipe.  Why? (you ask...) Because when I read a new recipe, I imagine that I am actually cooking it according to the instructions.  I imagine how it looks and the outcome.  Then I judge the recipe accordingly to see if I want to try it out or not.


When I read this recipe, I was very skeptical about the gravy part.  I've never had a breakfast casserole with gravy before.  Another thing I was unsure about was the egg part.  When I've made casseroles in the past, it usually calls for uncooked eggs, which you bake.  Well, in this recipe, it says to cook the eggs on the stove "until firm but still moist".  WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES THAT MEAN?  My mindset was still stuck on uncooked eggs.  Then I come across "firm but still moist"?!  I'm thinking about scrambled eggs and how people sometimes like to eat it runny.  Hmm...to cook or not to cook...I was indecisive.


So the next thing I did was read the reviews, which is something I do often when I come across a new recipe.  Everyone had good things to say about it.  But I didn't see any posts about scrambling the eggs.  "OH WELL!", I thought.  "I'll just try it out.  If it turns out bad, then I won't tell people I made it.  Plus, it's for the volunteers anyway."  hehehe jk.  I wouldn't do that.  If it turned out bad, then I would have bought some donuts.  :)  I made a large tray for the breakfast and a couple small samples for me to try. 


I did make adjustments to the recipe (like I always do).  I omitted the mushrooms and bacon.  I cooked the sausages and gravy part the night before so it's less work for me in the morning.  I also added other ingredients.  I don't know why, but I can never follow a recipe EXACTLY to the T!  I guess that's just ME!


The outcome:  It was delicious, and I had people asking for the recipe.  I think next time, I'll add more garlic powder, salt, and bacon!  YUM!  BACON!  (I could eat an entire package alone).....

Creamy Sausage Casserole with Biscuits

Creamy Sausage Casserole with Biscuits
(Adapted from Pillsbury)


Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. breakfast sausage (any flavor/brand)
• 8 tbsp. butter (divided-6 tbsp. & 2 tbsp.)
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 4 c. milk
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 3/4 tsp. salt (divided-1/2 tsp. & 1/4 tsp.)
• 12 eggs
• 1 can (5 oz.) evaporated milk
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 can (12 oz.) Pillsbury Grands! Golden Layers refrigerated biscuits
 

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease 9"x13" glass baking dish.
2. Cook sausages in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until browned and cooked.  Remove from heat and drain out the fat.  Set aside.
3. In same saucepan, melt 6 tbsp. butter.  Add flour and stir with wire whisk until smooth.  Cook over low heat for 1 minute.  Gradually stir in milk and cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly and thickened.
4. Add cooked sausages, black pepper, & 1/4 tsp. salt.  Mix well, and set aside.
5. In large bowl, beat eggs, evaporated milk, 1/2 tsp. salt, and garlic powder with wire whisk until well blended.  Set aside.
6. Melt remaining 2 tbsp. butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Add egg mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until firm but moist.  (Think of runny scrambled eggs.)
7. Pour 1/2 of sausage gravy into greased baking dish.  Top with egg mixture.  Then pour the remaining gravy on top of the eggs.
8. Separate dough and cut into quarters (or smaller).  Place biscuit pieces over sauce with the pointy side up.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until mixture is heated and the biscuits are golden brown.  (If you think your casserole is a bit runny, then cover it with foil and bake a little longer.)

Apple-Raisin Monkey Bread

I decided (at the last minute, of course), to make Apple-Raisin Monkey Bread for breakfast today for my first grade team.  Yes, I know...I'm SO nice!  hehe.  Long time ago, I made monkey bread with my daughter, and it came out too sweet.  So I set out to find a different recipe....at 4:30 in the morning!  Why so early?  Because Austin woke me up and wanted to drink milk!  He eats a lot! 

Anyhow, I found two recipes that I liked and merged them together to make my own!  It was so easy to make and even easier to eat!  (I'm going exclamation mark crazy right now!!!) lol  Both of these recipes are from the Pillsbury website.  I used the Grands! Monkey Bread recipe and took the apple idea from the Country Apple Coffee Cake recipe.  I cut back on the sugar and the butter (of course), and it came out great.  Make sure you eat it warm...because that's the best way to eat it!!!


Since oven temperatures vary, cooking times may be a little different.  The original recipe said 28-32 minutes, but I had to cook mine for 40 minutes...which made me late to my meeting.  I even texted Andrea (my co-worker) to ask her to tell my team that I was coming late...but had YUMMY food!  hehehe  So I guess I made up for it by bringing yummy food!!!  hehehe 

I'll post more photos later.  In the meantime...enjoy this one!  :)


Apple-Raisin Monkey Bread

Apple-Raisin Monkey Bread
(Adapted from Pillsbury)

Ingredients:

• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury Grands! Homestyle refrigerated biscuits
• 1 medium apple (small chopped)
• ¼ c. raisins
• ½ c. brown sugar
• ½ c. butter (melted)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Spray 9”x13” pan or baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In large storage zip-lock bag, mix sugar and cinnamon.
3. Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into 4-6 pieces.  Place into bag.
4. Close bag and shake to coat the biscuits.
5. Stir brown sugar into the melted butter and set aside.
6. Arrange 1/2 of the biscuits in the pan or dish.  Layer with chopped apples and raisins.  Pour 1/2 of the butter mixture evenly on top.
7. Top with the rest of the biscuits.  Pour the rest of the butter mixture evenly on top of the biscuits.
8. Bake 35-40 minutes (or until golden brown and no longer doughy in the center).  If the tops turn brown too quickly, place foil over the pan/dish during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
9. Turn upside-down onto serving plate (so the gooey stuff drips down while it's hot).  Pull apart to serve.  Serve warm.