Authentic Mexican Flan

Flan is a traditional Mexican custard dessert, it has a delicate and creamy texture and is very sweet, feel free to add fresh orange zest to the custard to give a different flavor and I always finish mine with fresh berries for tartness.
















Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

5 large eggs

1-12oz can evaporated milk

1-14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract
sliced fresh fruit (optonal)

Boiling hot water, enough to come 1/2 way up the dish in the roasting pan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a 9 inch circular glass baking dish into a roasting pan and place in the middle rack in the oven to heat up.

1. Heat sugar in a medium-sized sauce pan to medium heat, stirring occasionally with a silicone spatula to melt all the sugar. This typically takes 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile..

2. While the sugar is melting; add eggs, both milks and vanilla into a blender and blend for a few seconds to ensure a smooth mixture.

3. Once the sugar has melted into a smooth, golden syrup. Remove the roasting pan from the oven, pour sugar syrup into the circular dish and turn the dish around with hot mitts to swirl the syrup across and along the sides. Let sit for a minute and pour egg and milk mixture into the syrup dish and return to the roasting pan. 

4. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan to make a hot bath for the flan.

 Return to oven and bake for 60 minutes.

5. Once flan is removed from the oven, let cool and then transfer to your refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

6. After refrigeration, run a knife around the edges of the dish, then place the bottom of the dish onto a shallow baking pan and pour boiling water around it, not in the flan, the hot water will help melt the caramel that will be the topping once inverted. Next, place the plate or serving platter on top of the flan and quickly flip to invert the flan, tap the bottom of the flan dish to help release it.

You can garnish the flan with some whipped cream or some fresh fruit for a contrast in texture and flavor.

Healthier Peanut butter Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are addictive and healthier than the usual recipes but you cannot tell at all! The coconut flavor from the coconut oil makes these cookies.

 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/3 cup PB2 chocolate peanut butter powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups quick oats
2 cups brown sugar or honey
1 cup coconut oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. Beat together coconut oil, sugar or honey, eggs, and vanilla extract in a medium-sized bowl.

2. Now mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl, flour, salt, cinnamon, protein powder, peanut butter powder, baking soda, baking powder, and oatmeal.

3. Now combine the dry mixture into the wet mixture and stir until completely combined.

4. Now scoop dough into balls using a tablespoon measure, place on parchment lined sheet  2" apart and bake for 5 minutes, rotate the baking sheet and return to oven for 4 to 5 minutes, until caramel in color, let cool 2 minutes and transfer cookies onto another sheet pan to cool.

Italian Pasta Salad

The fresh vegetables and basil pesto really set this pasta salad off. This makes a great side dish for any occasion and its even better the next day.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb penne pasta, cooked al dente and cooled under cold running water

3tablespoons Italian dressing (I like wishbone brand)

3 tablespoons basil pesto

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, small dice

1 red bell pepper, small dice

1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced

1 cucumber, seeds removed and sliced into desired thickness

1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup sliced black olives (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

A pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine all ingredients, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to allow flavors to mend.

Enjoy!

Teriyaki Chicken Wings

Teriyaki has a special spot in my heart, growing up in the pacific north west teriyaki restaurants are everywhere! Teriyaki chicken wings were always my favorite hor d'oeuvre that my mother would make for special potlucks. Now marinating is very important in this recipe, it is key to let the flavors mend into the chicken wings.

Ingredients:

4lbs chicken wings, untrimmed

1 medium-sized onion, sliced 

8 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sriracha sauce

1 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

A couple pinches of red pepper flakes

Toasted sesame seeds

Scallions, thinly sliced

Directions: 

1. First, with a fork, poke a few holes in each chicken wing making sure to evenly distribute throughout the whole chicken wings. Then add the chicken wings to a large ziplock bag, set aside.

2. Next, add all ingredients to a saucepan, on medium heat.  Simmer until sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and set aside to cool. Taste, and add more sugar if needed, if you want more spice add more pepper flakes and sriracha.

3. Once the teriyaki sauce is cooled, pour into the ziplock bag with chicken wings, seal and shake. Place in a bowl just in case it leaks and refrigerate overnight. Every few hours you can shake the bag again to ensure even marination.

4. After marinating the wings overnight preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

6. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray  with nonstick spray. Evenly arrange  chicken wings on baking sheet and pour marinade over wings. Bake for 1 to 1/2 hours, turning the wings over occasionally. Make sure wings come to 165 degrees F on a instant read thermometer or until the meat is no longer pink.

7. Garnish wings with toasted sesame seeds and scallions. These can be eaten hot or a room temperature.

Enjoy!

The BEST Red Velvet cake recipe, super moist!!

I have tried several red velvet cake recipes and none have came close to this recipe. This is my favorite red velvet cake recipe! I got the recipe here Red Velvet cake.

Broiled garlic Parmesan shrimp

These shrimp are addictive, the fresh flavors of the garlic, thyme and lemon are what really set this dish off.

Ingredients:

1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp

8 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion

2 tablespoons white wine

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

The juice of one lemon

4 sprigs of fresh thyme, minced

2 teaspoons shredded Kraft Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons Italian dressing

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Set oven to broil.

2. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil, set aside.

3. Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and arrange shrimp on the sheet pan as one even layer, pour remaining juices over shrimp. 

4. Broil shrimp in oven for about 7 minutes, until shrimp are cooked and have brown edges.

Enjoy!

Oven fried eggplant topped with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese

This eggplant is just about the only way I will eat it, crunchy, and delicious with fresh basil marinara sauce.

Ingredients: 

1 eggplant peeled and sliced into 1/4 in thick circles

1-1/2 cups AP flour

1-1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 425F and line a sheet pan with aluminum foil,  set aside.

2. Arrange flour, panko, and eggs in three separate bowls and season flour with garlic, onion, salt and pepper.

3. Now take one piece of eggplant at a time coating it with flour first, then with egg ensuring even coating, and then panko, pressing the panko to the eggplant for a nice crunchy layer. Now do the same with all eggplant pieces.

4. Arrange eggplant on the sheet pan and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until panko is golden brown.

5. Remove from oven and top with mozzarella and Parmesan, crank oven up to the broil setting and return eggplant to oven on the top rack, once cheese is brown and bubbly remove from oven and serve with marinara sauce.

Enjoy!