Category Archives: Fun Stuff

Cheese Crisps

Appetizers, Cheese Crisps, Dinner Ideas, Fun Stuff, Salads, Side, Soup August 27, 2013 Leave a comment

Cheese crisps are so versatile and fun served with a salad, as a snack, served as an appetizer or use as

Cheese Crisps

Cheese Crisps

a scoop with your favorite dip. They are very easy to make, and the main ingredient is cheese. You can add fresh herbs or spices to the mixture to suit your theme or just leave plain. They are entertaining little treats full of protein and make great conversational foods at the dinner table, try adding cheese crunches with your next meal.

CHEESE CRISPS

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese or (you can use packaged grated cheese, any flavor you prefer)
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • You can add whatever seasoning you like: A teaspoon of powdered Ranch dressing mix, chili powder, garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, dry or fresh chopped basil, diced fresh parsley, fresh chopped herbs, whatever feels good to you or nothing at all.
  • Do NOT add salt, the crisps will be salty by default because of the cheese.
  • Parchment Paper to line your cookie tray with (nothing else will work)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

  1. Toss the cheese with the flour and pepper and any herbs or seasoning to taste in a bowl.
  2. Arrange a teaspoon of the cheese mixture on the parchment paper lined baking sheet and flatten slightly.
  3. Bake until golden, about 7 minutes. Cool slightly, then remove with a spatula to a rack and let cool.

Stuffed Banana Bites

Dessert, Fun Stuff August 22, 2013 Leave a comment

Don’t these little morsels look positively delicious, and they are pretty too! Found the recipe on Facebook.Banana Pic1 The treat prior to serving, but I think freezing them would also work. Great for an after school healthy snack, after dinner dessert, a buffet dessert table – well you get the picture. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • Straight 6” bananas (cut them into 3” sections)
  • Stuffing; Options: Creamy peanut butter, whipped cream, or marshmallow fluff
  • Chocolate chips – any flavor you want to dip your banana into, chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, cherry etc.
  • Chopped nuts or sprinkles

Directions:

  1. Try and find bananas with little to no curve for best results.
  2. Peel and slice off the ends of each banana. Cut the banana into about two 3″ long pieces.
  3. Stand your banana bites up on their flat, cut side.
  4. Hollow out the center using a straw
  5. Be sure not to go all the way down, leaving about a half inch banana, unhallowed, at the bottom.
  6. Melt your chocolate according to the package, pour your melted chocolate into a small, deep bowl.
  7. Dip the bottom half of your banana bites into the melted chocolate and roll in chopped nuts or sprinkles.

Banana Pic 2

    • Stand up on wax paper to dry. Refrigerate until chocolate has set and dry.
    • Once dry, remove the bananas from your refrigerator.
    • Transfer the peanut butter or marshmallow fluff to a pastry bag or a zip lock bag with the corner snipped off, and pipe it into your hollowed out bananas.
    • Enjoy!

Candy Corn Shots

Appetizers, Dessert, Fun Stuff July 30, 2013 Leave a comment

candy corn shotsWhat another great idea for an adult Halloween party or just a Fall cookout!  They are so pretty and can be paired up with the Caramel Apple Shots posted earlier.  If you know you saw a recipe and cannot find it – email me and I will send it to you.

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Cut the oranges in half and hollow them out.

For the orange layer:

  1. Boil one cup of water and stir in the orange jello.
  2. Once dissolved, remove from heat and add 1 cup of Cointreau.
  3. Pour the mixture into the orange peels, filling halfway.
  4. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, until firm.

For the white layer:

  1. Add 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup coconut milk, Knox gelatin, and sugar to a saucepan.
  2. Over medium heat, stir until gelatin and sugar are dissolved.
  3.   Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup Cointreau.
  4. Pour mixture on top of orange jello layer and refrigerate overnight.
  5. With a sharp knife, cut the orange halves in eighths.

Serve.

Caramel Apple Shots

Appetizers, Dessert, Fun Stuff July 30, 2013 Leave a comment

apple shotsFall is around the corner at least in this part of the country where mornings are now in the 50’s and the day time temp reaches 80.  I saw this awesome recipe on Facebook and followed the link to a blog called “That’s Michelle.”  http://www.thatssomichelle.com  How much fun for an adult picnic or Halloween party?

Ingredients:

  • 10 small Granny Smith apples
  • 1 envelope knox gelatin (unflavored)
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup coconut milk
  • 2 drops yellow food coloring
  • 1 envelope of Land o Lakes Caramel Hot Chocolate
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ½ cup butterscotch schnapps
  • Lemon juice

 Directions:

1.      Halve your apples and hollow them out cutting from the stem down.  Use a spoon to hollow the applies. 

2.      After hollowing out your apples halves – spritz lemon juice on the halves, covering completely – or dip into lemon juice to prevent browning.

3.      Mix ½ cup water with the envelope of caramel hot chocolate in a medium sized sauce pan, whisk to be sure all ingredients are combined.

4.      Add ½ cup of coconut milk, whisk again

5.      Add ¼ cup sugar and simmer slightly until sugar is dissolved and combined with mixture

6.      Add food coloring until you get the caramel color you desire (2 drops)

7.      Let mixture cool to warm, pour in ½ cup of butterscotch schnapps.

8.      Place apple halves on a rimmed cookie sheet and pour the caramel jello mixture into the apples. Refrigerate overnight

9.      Cut halves into quarters and those quarters in half again and serve immediately. 

Kitchen Moxy’s Onion Jam

Appetizers, Dinner Ideas, Fun Stuff July 27, 2013 Leave a comment

So you are asking, what is Onion Jam and what do I use it on? Onion jam is a fun,onion jam tasty spread that can be used on burgers, Portobello mushrooms, pizza, sandwiches, anything you want to add a layer of sweet piquancy. Make a batch and store in the refrigerator for weeks, it keeps well. Use a sweet onion such as a Walla Walla, Georgia Vidalia onion, a Texas Valencia, or a sweet California Imperial Sweet, Oso Sweet onion from South America, Osos are available from January through March, Maui Sweets come to us from Hawaii. In case you haven’t noticed, I love onions as much as I love garlic. I have some wow onion recipes and will share a few later.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • About 2 pounds of sweet onion (about 3 large)
  • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • Kosher salt and ground pepper
  • 1 cup of red wine
  • ¼ cup of honey
  • ¼ cup of red wine vinegar

Directions:

  1. Slice onions thin
  2. Preheat a heavy skillet over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  3. Add onions, thyme, salt and pepper to taste (about ¼ teaspoon of each) – cook covered
  4. Cook over medium heat until onions have wilted – about 10 – 15 minutes, be sure to stir occasionally with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. You do NOT want to brown the onions, just sweat them
  5. Remove lid, you do not use lid anymore
  6. Add red wine, cook over HIGH heat until the wine is absorbed into the onions – lower heat
  7. Add the honey and red wine vinegar and simmer gently until onions become jam like, about 15 minutes
  8. Remove from heat, cool and use or store in refrigerator

Frozen Custard

Dessert, Frozen Custard, Fun Stuff May 22, 2013 Leave a comment
Frozen Custard

Frozen Custard

Frozen custard was invented in Coney Island, New York in 1919, when ice cream vendors Archie and Elton Kohr found that adding egg yolks to ice cream created a smoother texture and helped the ice cream stay cold longer. In their first weekend on the “boardwalk”, the Kohr brothers sold 18,460 cones.
The difference between frozen custard and soft serve ice cream is that the frozen custard is very dense and air is not incorporated into the mixture. Half the final product of soft service ice cream is composed of air. Frozen custard is the crem de la crem of all frozen desserts, enjoy it in moderation as a truly wonderful summer dessert.

Ingredients:
*You will need an ice cream maker

  • 6 cups whole milk
  •   6 eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • One fresh Vanilla Bean (don’t skimp on this ingredient, as it makes the end taste surreal) 

Directions:

1.    Whole milk adds a creamy texture to the custard.

2.    Pour six cups of whole milk into a saucepan over a low heat.

3.    Milk will scald quickly of you do not stir it often, so stir the pan often. Bring the milk up to about 200 degrees F.

4.    Real vanilla beans make the frozen custard delicious.

5.    Open a vanilla pod and scrape the seeds into the pan of warm milk. If you don’t have vanilla beans, wait and add vanilla extract later.

6.    Eggs add protein and thicken the mixture.

7.    Crack six eggs into a mixing bowl and add 3/4 of a cup of sugar. Whip them with a whisk or beaters until the mixture is creamy and smooth and no sugar granules remain.

8.    Don’t let the milk boil or it will spill over.

9.    Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking it constantly to slowly warm up the eggs without curdling the proteins. Pour it back into the saucepan and place over medium heat.  The custard will coat the back of the spoon.

10.  Heat the mixture while constantly stirring it with a wooden spoon. The surface foam will subside as the custard heats up and starts to thicken. As soon as the custard coats the back of the spoon, remove it from the heat and continue to stir as it cools. Add the vanilla extract at this point if you didn’t use the fresh vanilla beans in step #5.

11.  Chill the custard for 12 hours. It will be thick and smell delicious. Freeze in the ice cream maker of your choice following manufacturer’s directions.

Lemon Pie Dessert without the Crust

Dessert, Fun Stuff, Weight Watcher Friendly May 16, 2013 Leave a comment

lemon dessertLemon Dessert = WW 1 point per cup

 About This Recipe

“For a sugar free, low fat dessert, this is really good. Truly, not even one point per dessert and it tastes just like lemon meringue pie without the crust. Be sure to use the cook and serve pudding mix, not instant.”

 Ingredients

  • 1 (7/8 ounce) cook package sugar-free vanilla pudding, mix ( not instant)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 (1/3 ounce) package sugar-free lemon gelatin
  • fat-free can of Reddi-wip Cream

Directions

1.    Add pudding mix to water and mix well.

2.    Bring to boil.

3.    Stir with a whisk until thickened.

4.    Add box of  lemon Jello and stir in well.

5.    Pour into individual dessert dishes and refrigerate until set.

6.    Top with fat free Reddi-wip whipped Cream

Whoopie Pies

Dessert, Fun Stuff, Lite and Weight Watcher Recipes May 16, 2013 Leave a comment

Whoopie Pies = 2WW points

Whoopie Pies

Whoopie Pies

18 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/2 cup fat-free milk
  • 3/4 cup marshmallow cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F.

  1. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
  2. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the sugar, shortening and egg white in a medium bowl until fluffy and well blended (about 2 minutes).
  3. Stir in the flower mixture, then the milk until just blended.
  4. Drop the dough by spoonful’s onto large, ungreased baking sheets, making 36 cookies.
  5. Bake until top springs back when lightly touched (5-7 minutes).
  6. Cool completely on the sheets on a rack.
  7. Spoon 2 tsp marshmallow spread on the bottoms of half of the cookies.
  8. Top with remaining cookies.
  9. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Cookies ‘n’ Cream Tortoni Frozen Dessert

Dessert, Fun Stuff, Lite and Weight Watcher Recipes May 16, 2013 Leave a comment

Weight Watchers friendly with only 3 points per serving, great for the warmer weather when you are craving something cold.

Cookies ‘n’ Cream Tortoni Frozen Desserttortoni

 Ingredients

  • 9 reduced-fat Oreo cookies – divided
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons butter (melted)
  • 3 (3 1/2 ounce) fat-free vanilla pudding cups (snack packs)
  • 1/2 cup frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Place paper or foil muffin cup liners in each of 6 muffin cups; set aside.
  2. Place 4 cookies in a zip-top plastic bag; finely crush cookies using a meat mallet or rolling pin.
  3. Combine cookie crumbs and butter; stir well.
  4. With a spoon, press cookie-crumb mixture evenly into bottom of each muffin cup liner.
  5. Place remaining 5 cookies in plastic bag, and coarsely crush.
  6. Combine 1/4 cup crushed cookies, pudding, whipped topping, and vanilla in a bowl; stir well.
  7. Divide pudding mixture evenly among prepared muffin cups.
  8. Top each evenly with remaining crushed cookies.
  9. Cover and freeze until firm.
  10. Store in freezer for up to a month
  11. Note: To serve, let stand at room temperature 5 minutes before serving, squirt fat free Cool Whip on top and enjoy.

Raspberry Tiramisu

Dessert, Fun Stuff May 10, 2013 Leave a comment
raspberry teramJust in time for Mother’s Day, I received this recipe in my email care of Food Network.  It was so special I had to repost it to Kitchen Moxy.  What a delightfully, fresh dessert this will make after a celebrated dinner on Sunday!  Happy Mother’s Day to all my friends and family.

Raspberry Tiramisu

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Prep Time: 20 min

Inactive Prep Time: 3 hr 0 min

Serves: 8 to 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup seedless raspberry jam
  • 6 tablespoons orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
  • 1 pound mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 28 soft ladyfingers or 2 (12-ounce) pound cakes, cut into 3 by 1 by 1 1/2-inch pieces
  • 3 (1/2 dry pint) baskets fresh raspberries (about 3 3/4 cups total)
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for serving

Directions

  1. Stir the jam and 4 tablespoons of the orange liqueur in a small bowl to blend.
  2. Combine the mascarpone and remaining 2 tablespoons of orange liqueur in a large bowl to blend.
  3. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream, sugar, and vanilla in another large bowl until soft peaks form.
  4. Using a large rubber spatula, stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten.
  5. Fold the remaining whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.
  6. Line the bottom of a13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish or other decorative serving dish with half of the ladyfingers.
  7. Spread half of the jam mixture over the ladyfingers. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the jam mixture, then cover with half of the fresh raspberries. Repeat layering with the remaining ladyfingers, jam mixture, mascarpone mixture and raspberries.
  8. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.
Dust with the confectioners’ sugar and serve.