Marcela's Rosemary-Skewered Shrimp Marinated in Chipotle

I am a HUGE "Mexican Made Easy" fan! Have you experienced Marcela Valladolid show on Food Network? I have gobbled up every episode, and she is so charming! She makes mexican dishes with such ease and so quickly! I have made several dishes of Marcela's but this is the latest. Super delish shrimp with a nice zest. They are a great app or would be scrumptious over a fresh salad! Cant wait to try them hot off the GRILL next time=)

 Adapted From Marcela Valladolid

15 fresh THICK rosemary sprigs, or if you run out of rosemary use bamboo skewers
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 TBS. fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves, grated or minced
3 TBS. chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons ground dried chipotle chile
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound raw medium shrimp, peeled but tails left intact, and deveined
Lime wedges, for serving

Remove the leaves from half the length of each rosemary sprig, and set aside. Chop enough of the rosemary leaves to make 1 1/2 teaspoons. Combine the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, ground chipotle, and rosemary in a med bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Let stand 5 min , then skewer on sprigs of rosemary and/or bamboo skewers. Heat a large heavy skillet or an outside grill. Cook a 1-1 1/2 mins per side and flip. Plate them up and sever with lime wedges.

"BEETING" Heart Donuts

So that day has come around yet again. That day we know as V-day! With it being February 13th today I did feel slightly compelled to bake a little something red to ring is the day of love tomorrow. I know the day it's self is a little touchy. Some people hate it some people love it, if they are in or out of a relationship it dose not matter the thought they have of the "made up" day will never change. I am pretty sure you all don't care for one second about my opinion on the subject so I wont go into it anymore. The bottom and tasty line is that wether you love the holiday tomorrow or if its just a normal Tuesday in February for you.....you should make these donuts. If you have not figured it out by the cocky name, these babies do contain BEETS....so in turn you don't need add in any red coloring.
Ok, for those people who just experienced a mild heart attack by me saying that I put beets in donuts...calm it down....

They only contain 1/4 cup of roasted beets. They are so beautiful, what's not to love=)

They are tossed with some milk...

Then puree them=)

If you are lucky enough(or crazy enough, like me) to own a heart shaped donut tray...SCORE you are in luck!

If not a regular donut tray works just as good, without the overly mushy, fuzzy aspect. 

The top heart is how they look when you pull them out of the oven, and the bottom in the underside. Apparently beet puree rises when cooked in a bake good.

A donut can't be a donut without a nice glaze....so add a little pom love=)

DIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!......and then

FLIP!!!!!!! and let it harden a min

Repeat with the rest....YUMMMMMMMM

Adapted from: A Good Appetite

"BEETING" Heart Donuts

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of cayenne

1/4 cup chopped roasted beets

1/4 cup of milk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 teaspoon melted butter

For the Glaze

1-2 Tbs, POM juice

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325*

In a small bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cayenne to combine. 

In a mini food processor or blender, puree beets and milk. They will still have little chunks...not totally smooth and that is ok.

Mix the beet mix with the flour mix, and add in vanilla, one egg, and the melted butter. Mix it all together to combine. Then pour in the donut tray and bake 11 mins until it springs back to the touch. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Mix the juice and sugar to make glaze and dip the donuts into the glaze, and let harden a little and enjoy.!

HEALTHY Dark Chocolate Whole Wheat Cookies!!!

I must say my favorite classic cookie is not chocolate chip alone...I would much rather dive into a oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, must be a texture thing.  So, needless to say the rare times I make a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, they vanish almost instantly!  I have wanted to incorporate a few of my new favorite ingredients into a batch of cookies and see how these new HEALTHY versions stack up. Lets just sum it up by saying the moment these babies hit my lips the heavens opened up! JACKPOT!!!!!! These are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

When a photo shoot takes a little too long....................


So before I get to the recipe let me share my three new favorite ingredients with you.

Number One:

Number Two:

Number Three:

These three are sure to be new staples in my pantry! Not only to have them on hand for these tasty cookies but to incorporate them into many other recipes, stay tuned=)

HEALTHY Dark Chocolate Whole Wheat Cookies

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup oats
1 cup extra dark chocolate chips
2 Tbs. milled flax seeds

Preheat oven to 350*
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with butter. In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a mixing bowl cream the butter with the brown sugar until light in color, about 4 mins. Beat in the egg until well incorporated. Then add in the vanilla and beat. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and blend well. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips and flax seeds. Drop a Tbs. of dough onto cookie sheet. Bake 8 mins until golden. Let sit for a min a cookie sheet once out of the oven, then transfer to a cooking rack. ENJOY!!!!!!!

Outstanding Orange Poppyseed Loaf

OK people, are you listening?! Do yourself a favor and MAKE this.....like NOW! I found this recipe many years back when I was looking at some pampered chef recipe books that my friend Amber brought to work. This one stuck out and I knew I had to try it right away...well several years later, I have to admit I have probably made it close to 50 or more times. I use to make it for every get together, and people started to request it. I would whip some up over the holidays in mini loaf pans for friends and neighbors. After trying many other quick sweet bread recipes....this is still and will always be my favorite! It is sure to become a new favorite in your house as well!
From Pampered Chef

 * Before you start to make the bread remove from the fridge 3 eggs, 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 stick of butter..allow them to come to room temp 30 mins...maybe closer to 1 hour for the butter.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
2 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 cup (1 stick of butter) room temp
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, room temp
1/2 cup sour cream , room temp

For the Glaze
1/3 cup of powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice, from your zested orange
1 teaspoon orange zest

* you will probably end up using 2 oranges total

Preheat oven to 325*
Butter a loaf pan well, and set aside. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, poppy seeds, and orange zest together in a small bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl beat the butter on high for 30 seconds with a hand mixer. Add the sugar and continue to beat the butter with the sugar together for 3 min. until it is light and fluffy. Then add the vanilla and beat to combine.
With your mixer on medium speed, add in the eggs, one at a time beating 30 seconds after each egg to combine.
With the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, beat until just combined.
Then add in 1/2 of the sour cream and beat until just combined
Then add another 1/3 of flour and mix to combine
Then the other 1/2 of the sour cream and combine
Then the last of the flour mix and beat just to combine
Pour batter into pan and bake for 60 mins.

When the bread has about 5 mins left to bake make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, orange juice and zest in a small bowl.

Once the loaf is done remove from the pan right away and brush on a thin layer from glaze all over the loaf, wait 5 mins or so and repeat. Let cool and then slice and enjoy!

Pomegranate Double Chocolate Cookies!

If you are in a funk, and bummed that it is only hump day, and this week is going soooo slow. Rush home STAT and make a batch of cookies. I mean come on, what else makes everything all right in the world and happy other then, bitting into a warm homemade cookie. YUMMMMMM.....DROOLLLL
Adapted from Two Peas and their pod


1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks
1 cup pomegranate arils*, pom seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.

3. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.

4. Stir in the oats and  two types of chocolate. Then GENTLY stir on pom seeds. Make dough balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

* I find the easiest way to remove the seeds from the pom, is to cut the fruit in half and place in a large bowl of water. Then with your fingers pull it apart. You can also find the already removed seeds in the produce sections in most grocery stores.

Honey-Garlic Glazed Meatballs!

YES, these are as good as they sound! I made them for new years eve, and plan to make them again for super bowl if not before. They were fast and easy to put together and the sauce has some outstanding flavor!
From allrecipes.com

2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt..recipe calls for 2 tsp...but 1 works
2 pounds ground beef
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
1 TBS. butter
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup honey
3 TBS. soy sauce

In a large bowl combine eggs and milk. Add the bread crumbs onion and salt. Crumble beef over mixture and combine it all together, mix well, but don't go crazy and over mix it all. Shape into about 1 inch balls and place on greased baking sheets. Bake uncovered at 400* for 14-18 mins or until not longer pink in the middle.
While the meat balls are cooking, make the sauce. In a large saucepan melt the butter over med heat and add the garlic and allow to cook for a min. Then stir in the ketchup, honey and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and cover and simmer for 5 mins. Drain meatballs and carefully toss with the sauce heat for another 5-10 mins. Enjoy nice a warm!

Mashed Chipotle Cheddar Sweet Potatoes with Green Poblano Gravy!!!!!!!

OK everyone seriously these are out of this world!!! This dish makes me so happy to have taste buds and to be alive!!! I think I could win just about anyone over with this dish!! I ate it for one week strait and made the gravy alone two nights in a row. This side would be great any time of year, but this will be sure to be on the christmas table at my house. I think I would be happy as a clam to eat this and only this for dinner....I know, by now you are thinking. Boy, she has lost her marbles, what the heck is wrong with her. Well the only way I can respond to that is  to challenge you to try this ASAP!!! Your taste buds will be cheering!!!!!!!!! It all starts with a compound herb butter, that you could make ahead of time along with the charred poblanos. If you do those two things ahead of time, this will be done in the same time it would take you to make the same old same old mashed potatoes and gravy. Not that there is anything wrong with those, these will just be an amazing scrumptious twist!!
*These are soooo easy to make a full meat free dish, just use veggie broth instead of chicken broth*

Adapted from Rachael Ray

OK first things first...you need to make an herb butter. What you will need is....
1 stick up butter, *at room temp*
1 large clove garlic, minced fine or grated fine
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1/2 a lime
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3-4 leaves of fresh basil chopped
2-3 fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 Tbs pureed chipotle in adobo (get a can and dump all the peppers and juice in a processor or a blender and puree, scoop a tablespoon , more or less for you taste... and put the rest in a ziploc and store in the freezer)
Place everything in a food processor or a blender and mix.
You can store in the fridge for later, or use right away.

*While we are making things ahead, go ahead and char a poblano under the broiler just like this.......
Preheat the broiler HIGH and char the poblanos all over until the skin is blackened, 12 to 15 minutes. Place in a bowl and cover to steam for about 10 minutes. Peel, seed and chop the chiles.


Lets start on the sweet potatoes
3 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup of stock (chicken or veggie)
3 or more Tbs of the above compound butter
1/4 cup of sour cream OR heavy cream OR mexican crema
1-2 TBS. Chipotle Puree, that you made above
salt and pepper

Fill a large pot with cold water and add sweet potatoes, and cook until fork tender. Drain and return them back to the hot pot. Start to mash and add in the grated cheese, stock, herb butter, cream, chipotle, and season with salt pepper.

Now for the gravy
1 charred poblano, peeled with seeds removed and chopped
a box of stock, either chicken or veggie..you wont use the whole box more like 2- 2 1/2 cups
4 Tbs. compound herb butter from above
4 Tbs. flour
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup or more of half and half
1/4 cup of mexican crema or heavy cream or a little more
salt and pepper to taste

Puree the poblano with 1/2 cup of stock and set aside.
Heat a med skillet over med heat and melt the herb butter in the pan, then whisk in the flour and whisk for a min, then while whisking add in the broth a little at a time to form a gravy. Whisk away so you don't have lumps. When the gravy reaches the thickness you like, add in worcestershire,cream, half and half and add in the poblano puree.