Chocolate Dessert Cups

Are you ready to impress for your Mother's Day dessert, well this will do the trick.When I first saw someone make this type of chocolate bowl, I was like, "I don't think so", but it was truly easy. You do need patience though! Give it a try, it will be spectacular. You can also fill these up with fruit or ice cream instead. My mom loves creamy things, so I went with this one.

Ingredients:

8 balloons, blow up balloons to be the size of an orange

2 8 oz. cream cheese bars, room temperature

1 8 oz. whipped topping

1 tsp. of brewed coffee, but you can adjust the amount depending on your taste. (remember to get this in am when you are making your coffee)

1 cup of chocolate chips

1/4 cup of white chocolate chips

8 lady fingers

Directions:

In medium bowl, add chocolate and place on a simmering pot of water and melt. When all melted, remove and add in white chips. Give a few stirs, but leave streaks in the chocolate. Take each balloon dip into chocolate half way up or as deep as your wish your bowls to be. Place them on cookie sheet to cool. This doesn't take that long. Give it an hour though.

In another bowl add cream cheese, whipped topping and coffee. I use a blender. Refrigerate for an hour to stiffen cream. Now take the lady fingers and dip the tip into to chocolate and let harden as well.

You don't have to pipe in the cream into the bowls in a fancy way, but I did. Just use a large plastic baggie. Fill the bag, squeeze cream to the bottom and give bag a twist and cut off tip. Fill the bowls as much as you want. Slide in the lady finger and give a sprinkle of coco powder if you have.

I will be bringing you many versions of this at some point, but as always, be creative. Cooking is fun and not meant to be stressful, but only to relieve stress. Enjoy!

Rosemary Potatoes

Instead of serving a baked potatoes tonight, why  not slice up your potatoes or even better yet, but a few cans of whole potatoes or frozen potatoes and season them up and surprise the family. This is something I make for me and my daughter all the time. I do the same thing to my chicken and place the potatoes around it. Simply delicious.

Ingredients:

1 frozen bag of potatoes or 2 cans of whole potatoes

2 tbs. olive oil

1/4 cup of rosemary

1/4 tsp. of red pepper flakes if you like some heat

1/2 tsp. salt and pepper

1 tsp. of garlic powder

Directions:

Place the olive oil in a baking dish and add in the potatoes. Give them a toss so that the oil covers them. Add in the rosemary, salt, pepper and garlic powder, toss again and bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. 

Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients: 

3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (11 ounce) can Mexican-style corn, drained

2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chile & peppers, partially drained

2 tomatoes, diced

2 bunches green onions, chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish


Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together black beans,  

Mexican-style corn, diced tomatoes with green chile

peppers, tomatoes and green onion stalks. Garnish with

desired amount of cilantro leaves. Chill in the refrigerator at least 8 hours, or overnight,  before serving. Serve with Blue Chips.

Black Bean and Jalapeno Black Bean Pie

Ingredients:

4 10 inch flour tortillas

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 large onion finely chopped

1 small jalapeno, finely chopped (remove seeds for less heat)

1 garlic clove minced

½ teaspoon of cumin

6 scallions finely chopped

12 ounces of light beer

2 15oz cans of black beans

1 package of frozen corn

1 small package of shredded cheddar cheese (8oz)

Dash of salt and pepper

Sour cream

*You may also add chicken to this recipe.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Trim tortillas to fit 9 inch spring form pan.

      In fry pan heat oil and sauté onion, jalapeno, garlic and cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 6  minutes. Add in beans and beer and bring to boil. Heat until liquid is almost evaporated. Approximately 10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions (set aside ½ cup for garnish) and remove from heat. Add  a dash of salt and pepper to taste.

      Place first tortilla in bottom of spring foam. Layer with a ¼ of the bean mixture and cheese. Repeat 3 more times. Remaining cheese on top layer. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from spring form and garnish with remaining scallions. Cut into wedges and serve with sour cream if desired.

Szechuan Chicken

Ingredients:

4  Chicken breasts*; skinned

3 tb Cornstarch

1 tb Vegetable oil

3 Cloves garlic; minced

5 tb Soy sauce (low salt)

1 1/2 tb White-wine vinegar

1 ts Sugar

1/4 c  Water

6  Green onions; cut into 1" pieces

1/8 ts Cayenne or to taste

Directions:

Cut chicken *(these are 1/2 breasts, as you buy them in the market)
into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Lightly toss with cornstarch in bag to coat. Heat oil in skillet or wok; stir-fry chicken and garlic until lightly browned. Add  soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and water.

Cover and cook 3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Add green onions and cayenne; cook uncovered about 2 minutes longer.

Chicken In Spicy Sauce

Here is a great Chicken In Spicy Sauce recipe. You can cut out the spicy by leaving out the garam and chili sauce. I usually serve with fries and a salad, but you can also serve with white or brown rice and pour the sauce over it. Its really delicious!

Ingredients:

8   chicken thighs, skinned

1 can (8-oz) tomatoes, drained

2 tbs. tomato paste

2 tbs.  chili sauce

2    garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp. sugar

2 tbs. soy sauce

1 tbs. garam masal

1    juice of one lime

1    juice of one lemon

               

Instructions:

Rinse chicken; pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken in a shallow baking dish and set aside. Put tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili sauce, sugar, Garam Masala, soy sauce, garlic, lime juice and lemon juice in a blender. Blend until smooth and pour over chicken, cover and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours to allow chicken to blend flavors.

Preheat oven to 375 F. bake chicken uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tender, basting with sauce 3 or 5 times during cooking. Serve hot with some rice or fries.

Avocado Dip

Ingredients: 

2 avocados

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1/2 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

2 (16 ounce) cans re-fried beans

3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded lettuce

1 large chopped fresh tomato

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup green bell pepper

1/4 cup sliced black olives

Directions: 

Spread re fried beans evenly on a medium sized serving platter. If the beans are watery, chill for 20 to 30 minutes.
Peel the avocados and remove the pits. In a food processor, blend the avocados with the mayonnaise, sour cream and taco seasoning until smooth. Pour over the re fried beans. Top with cheddar cheese. Add lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, green pepper and black olives if  desired. Refrigerate until serving. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.