Gazpacho

What is the perfect lunch, dinner or snack for a hot summer day? Gazpacho. Not only is it loaded with nutrients, anti oxidants and is low in fat and calories, but it is the perfect summer meal since there is no hot oven involved. Who wants to eat a steaming bowl of soup when it is over 100 degrees outside? Certainly not me.

I made this Gazpacho on Friday and I have been eating it ever since. I have a bowl with my lunch and then when I am ready for a snack I have some more. I dice some avocado to put on top and WOW is it delish! I got this recipe from my good friend Terri, but I changed it up just a little bit. I did link the original recipe, although the one I have on here is different.

BON APPETIT!!


Gazpacho

6 ripe tomatoes, peeled
1 red onion
1 cucumber, peeled
1 green bell pepper, seeded
2 stalks celery
A handful of fresh parsley
A handful of fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 T. olive oil
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
6 or more drops of Tabasco sauce to taste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (omit for vegetarian option)
4 cups tomato juice
Avocado


Toss all ingredients except tomato juice and avocado in food processor and blend until finely chopped. Put in container with tomato juice and mix well. Place in non-metal, non-reactive storage container, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, allowing flavors to blend. Serve with diced avocado for garnish.

Serves 8. (or in my case, 1, since I am the only person in the house that eats this)

**I swiped this picture off of Google images since my camera battery is dead and I can't find the charger. Oops!)

Monster Chomps

The BEST cookies ever!

1 stick cups Butter
1 1/4 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 dash Salt
1 teaspoon Karo White Corn Syrup
1 teaspoon Vanilla
4 1/2 cups Oats
12 ounces Mini Chocolate Chips


Mix butter and peanut butter well. Add sugars and mix. Add eggs one at a time. Add rest of ingredients and mix well. Drop by large spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes 3-4 dozen.

Beatty's Chocolate Cake

Yesterday was Jacob's birthday and he requested Chocolate Cake with Chocolate icing. Since I don't really have a "go to" recipe for Chocolate Cake, I naturally went to my favorite cookbook(s), Barefoot Contessa. I found a recipe that looked delicious!!

Beatty's Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Chocolate Buttercream, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Frosting:
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.



He wanted it decorated like "dirt", so I put some Oreo's in the food processor and topped the cake with it. Then added worms of course! The cake was delicious...not too sweet, which was fabulous. The coffee flavor really came through. DELISH!!

My apologies

I am so sorry I haven't been posting much. It's just that in the summer I don't cook very much! We are always outside.....out and about, which means making fast meals at home. Certainly nothing exciting to blog about! Not to mention, who wants to stand in front of a hot stove when it is 103 degrees? *fans myself* It is H-O-T!!

Sooo, I will leave you this morning with a quick but delicious hors devours recipe....since summertime is full of parties!! I will take it out of my cookbook!

Shrimp and Corn Salsa (an old favorite!!)

1/4 C. fresh lemon juice
1/4 C. sour cream
1/4 C. mayo
1/4 C. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
3/4 lb. medium cooked shrimp, peeled and chopped
1, 15 1/4 oz. can corn, drained
1/3 C. red onion, finely chopped

Whisk first 7 ingredients together in a large bowl. Stir in shrimp, corn and onion. Refrigerate. Serve with Fritos Scoops or Belgian Endive leaves.

Like I said....it's an oldie but a goodie!! Bon Appetit!

The best darn cupcakes EVER!

OK I have to share with you my newest love....and right in time for July 4th! They are red, the icing is white and if you put a single blueberry right in top, you've got your red, white and blue dessert. They are just delicious and VERY easy to make! I don't have a recipe to link since this is just a culmination of many recipes that I have read....kind of my own creation!

The Very Best Cupcakes in the World (Even if you think you don't like red velvet. Trust me on this...I have good taste buds.)

Cake:
24 paper liners for cupcake pans
1 package (18.25 ounces) Red Velvet cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup sour cream (I use light)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese (I use light)
1 stick butter
1 t. vanilla
2 C. or more Powdered Sugar (depending on if you like the tart taste of cream cheese, or the sweetness of the sugar....in case you were wondering, I like the tart!)


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners (I actually only get 22 out of this). Set the pans aside.

Place the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, water, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more. The batter should look thick and well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Fill batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes). Place the pans in the oven.

Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and cool 15 minutes more, or until cool before frosting.

For frosting, cream butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and mix well.

Dinner Club pictures

Here is a slideshow of pictures that Ashley took of Dinner Club. Fun, fun!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Shrimp and Grits

This past weekend was dinner club. We had a fabulous time and got to eat some yummy food. The theme was "Southern Food" and the host served Fried Chicken and Fried Green Tomatoes. We ate outside on a table that had been adorned with quilts, flowers and homemade napkins tied with ribbon. SOOOOOOO cute. All in all a great night!

Here is what was served

Pre-dinner drinks - Alabama Slammers
Appetizers - Shrimp and Grits and fresh Pimento Cheese (two people have appetizer since there are so many of us)
Soup - Corn Chowder
Bread - Biscuits with honey and butter
Salad - Layered Cornbread Salad
Main Course - Fried Chicken and Fried Green Tomatoes
Dessert - Pound Cake with Fresh Fruit

I had appetizer again this month so I served little ramekins of Shrimp and Grits. I think it was a hit, or else everyone was just being kind. Everyone told me how delicious it was so I think it went over well!

I did not get pictures, but here is the recipe I used.

Shrimp and Grits
Serves 4

2 C. water
1 – 14 oz can Chicken Broth
¾ C. half and half
¾ t. salt
1 C. regular grits
¾ C. shredded Cheddar Cheese
¼ C. grated parmesan cheese
2 T. butter
½ t. hot sauce
¼ t. white pepper
3 bacon slices
1 lb. medium shrimp peeled and deveined
¼ t. black pepper
1/8 t. salt
¼ C. flour
1 C. sliced mushrooms
½ C. chopped green onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ C. low sodium, fat free chicken broth
2 T. fresh lemon juice
¼ t. hot sauce
Lemon wedges

Bring first 4 ingredients (through salt) to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually mix in grits. Reduce heat and simmer stirring occasionally, 10 mins or until thickened. Add Cheddar cheese and next 4 ingredients. Keep warm.
Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, drain on paper towels, reserving 1T. drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon, set aside. Sprinkle shrimp with pepper and salt, dredge in flour. Saute mushrooms in hot drippings in skillet 5 minutes or until tender. Add green onions and sauté 2 minutes. Add shrimp and garlic and sauté 2 minutes or until shrimp are lightly brown. Stir in chicken broth, lemon juice and hot sauce and cook 2 more minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet. Serve shrimp mixture over hot grits. Top with crumbled bacon, serve with lemon wedges.

I doubled the recipe and served it as an appetizer for 16. YUMMY!!! I liked this recipe because it had mushrooms in it.