Carrot Muffins

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My toddler is terrible about eating vegetables and these muffins are great because they have a whole cup of carrots in them and he doesn't even know it.

1 c. wheat flour

1 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. brown sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

3 eggs

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 t. vanilla

1 c. carrot puree(I cooked my carrots in the microwave for 3-4 minutes and pureed in the blender.)

Mix all ingredients together completely. Pour into greased muffin tins or cupcake liners. Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Makes 1 dozen muffins.

hot corn dip

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This is a really yummy appetizer. I've shared it with quite a few people and they all love it!


11 oz. can Mexican corn, drained

4.5 ox can chopped green chilies

1 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz.)

½ c. Parmesan cheese

½ c. mayonnaise

Corn chips, for dipping

Heat oven to 350. Grease a small casserole dish.

Mix corn, chilies, cheeses, and mayo until fully combined and spread into dish. Cook, uncovered for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly around the edges.

Recipe: Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

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Although I still prefer regular basil pesto (recipe coming soon), this one's pretty tasty, too.

makes about 1 cup

1 bunch cilantro
1/2 cup blanched almonds

1/4 red onion, chopped
1 small serrano chile, seeded
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Put all ingredients except oil in food processor. Blend well. Move contents to small bowl and stir in olive oil.

Store in fridge or freezer. The surface of pesto will begin to brown after some time. To prevent browning, either put a thin layer of olive oil over surface of pesto or place plastic wrap on surface for storage. Pesto also freezes very well. Fill ice cube tray with pesto and freeze. Remove from tray and put in zip lock back.

Cilantro pesto is good as a sauce for pizza (like carne asada pizza), on pasta, in dips, etc.

Copy Cat CPK Carne Asada Pizza

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My husband and I recently ordered the carne asada pizza from California Pizza Kitchen while on vacation. We loved it and I set out to try to recreate it at home. Here's what I came up with.

pizza dough
1/2 c cilantro pesto
2 mild chili peppers
1/2 an onion, sliced
1/2 lb carne asada steak
1 c grated mozzarella cheese
1 c grated monterrey jack cheese
cilantro, for garnish
olive oil
corn meal
green taco sauce

Prepare pizza dough. While it is rising, prepare your chilis. Half, remove seeds, and place chilis on pan. Drizzle with olive oil and broil in oven until roasted on top. Cool and then slice.
Grill your steak, seasoning with carne asada seasoning. Be careful not to overcook (the thin slices can get tough quickly and since you'll be cooking it on your pizza in the oven there is no need to worry about under cooking). Slice steak.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle pizza stone or pan with olive oil and sprinkle with corn meal. Form dough into pizza round on pan. Spread cilantro pesto over uncooked dough. Sprinkle on cheeses and add sliced onions, chilis, steak, and cilantro. Cook for about 17 minutes or until outer crust is golden brown. Allow to cool before slicing.
Dip in green taco sauce if desired.

Debbie's Whole Wheat Bread

Makes 2 loaves


3 ½ c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. gluton flour
2 T. instant yeast
2 ½ c. steaming hot water

Mix for one minute. Cover for ten minutes.

Add:
4 t. salt
1/3 c. oil
1/3 c. honey
4 t. lemon juice

Mix for one minute. Add:
1 ¼- 1 ½ c. whole wheat flour

Add just enough flour that it doesn’t stick to the bowl when it is being mixed. Don’t add more than necessary. Knead for 10 minutes. Roll into two loaves. Spray bread pans with non-stick cooking spray. Place loaf into bread pan upside down to coat with oil and then turn upright. Set oven to 200 degrees and shut off when it reaches temperature. Place bread into oven and let rise 15-30 minutes. Bread should double in pan. Don’t let bread over raise. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from pans and brush the top of each loaf with butter.

Mint Oreos

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I've posted a homemade Oreo recipe before, but wanted to give you guys a new idea to try. I love Mint Oreos, so I decided to make mint cream cheese frosting this time. Check the updated recipe out on the original post here. These are great!

Giveaway

The month of June marks two years since we started Make Your Taste Buds Dance. To celebrate, we are holding a giveaway.
Up for grabs is:
♥ apron
♥ Jangles Jewelry watch face with beaded band
♥ String and Bling large crocheted earrings
♥ standard muffin/cupcake pan
♥ jumbo heart sprinkles
♥ cupcake display stand

Rules
Must be a resident of the continental US. Contest ends Wednesday, June 30, 2010 at 11:59pm. No entries will be accepted after that time. Winner will be announced on Thursday, July 1, 2010.

To enter, simply leave a comment telling us your favorite recipe on our blog (or one of the recipes you think would make your taste buds dance).

For addition entries, you can:
1) Be a follower of MYTBD (see sidebar) 2) Blog about our giveaway 3) Post about our giveaway on facebook.

And for FIVE additional entries, follow these steps: try one of our recipes, leave a comment ON THAT RECIPE POST, then come back to this post and leave us FIVE SEPARATE COMMENTS to let us know what you did. You can only do this option once, but you can try as many of our recipes as you want. :)

For each entry you must leave a separate comment (example: Comment 1: "I love those savory brunch rolls". Comment 2: "I'm a follower." comment 3: "I blogged about the giveaway at yourblog.blogspot.com." Comment 4: "I posted about the giveaway on facebook." Comment 5: "I made the s'mores cupcakes." Comment 6: "I made the s'mores cupcakes." Comment 7: "I made the s'mores cupcakes." Comment 8: "I made the s'mores cupcakes." Comment 9: "I made the s'mores cupcakes.").

If you have any questions on how to leave comments on our blog, email mlongroe@gmail.com

Cajun Chicken Pasta

This was a really yummy dish that I've made twice in the last few weeks. My sister and I make each other dinner once a week and today I made this for us. She really liked it and is making it next week for her family.

6 servings

12-16 oz. linguine pasta; cooked al dente
3 chicken breasts, sliced into strips
4 t. cajun seasoning (found with the spices, not in a packet)
4 T. butter
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
4 mushrooms, optional
2 green onions, minced
3 c. heavy cream
1/2 t. basil, lemon pepper, and salt
1/4 t. garlic powder and pepper
grated parmesan cheese

Place sliced chicken into a medium sized bowl with cajun seasoning to coat.

Saute chicken in the butter for 5-7 minutes. Slice peppers and onion and add to the chicken; cook 2-3 minutes.

Reduce the heat and stir in cream and season with seasonings. Allow to thicken on low heat; this may take several minutes. If needed add 1/4 c. flour.

Combine pasta and sauce or pour sauce over pasta for each serving. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on each individual serving.


Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Sweet-and-sour meatballs

These are yummy and fast, and you'll have leftovers for days!

Meatballs:

2 lbs ground turkey

1 C rolled oats

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 TB onion powder

1 1/4 tsp salt

Pinch of pepper (or more to suit your taste)

2/3 C milk

Sauce:

1 C brown sugar

1/2 C vinegar

2 tsp prepared mustard

1/2 C barbecue sauce

Combine ground turkey, oats, eggs, onion salt, salt, pepper, and milk. Form into 1 1/2-inch balls (I use a melon baller) and place in a greased casserole dish (or two). In a bowl, combine brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, and barbecue sauce. Pour over meatballs and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with brown rice and veggies.

In the past, I have frozen half a batch to bake later; I have also frozen half a batch after baking, then thawed a few weeks later for a quick meal. I like to make a little extra sauce too because my husband likes plenty.

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

This was a real hit with my little family and is definitely one of my new faves!

Stuffed French Toast

1 loaf French bread

½ c. fresh fruit, I used strawberries

1 8 oz. package plain cream cheese

2 eggs

1 T. cinnamon

½ c. milk

2 T. butter

Heat frying pan to 325 degrees.

Cut French bread into 2-3 inch wide slices. Then, with a paring knife, go back and cut halfway into each slice, in the center, creating a pocket that your fruit mixture can be stuffed into.

In a bowl, place the room temperature cream cheese and fruit in a bowl and combine well.

In a separate bowl, break 2 eggs; add cinnamon and milk and combine well.

Now take fruit mixture and stuff into the pockets of your French bread slices.

When done stuffing each piece of bread, completely coat each piece in egg mixture. Make sure all sides are covered. Do all pieces before frying.

Put 2 T. butter or cooking spray onto frying pan. Add all the bread to the skillet and cook roughly and 3-6 minutes on each side, until it is golden brown. You want to make sure the cream cheese mixture heats through. If it is golden and not quite cooked through, heat in microwave to a 30 seconds or so.

When done frying, serve with or without maple syrup.

Recipe adapted from: The Tasty Kitchen

Boneless Ribs

This was a really yummy, classic recipe that's definitely a keeper.
5 adult servings.

1 4.0 lbs. package extra lean, boneless, country style pork or beef ribs (I used pork)

1 large can crushed pineapples, juice included

1 c. ketchup

4-5 shakes Worchestershire Sauce

1 c. brown sugar

1 t. dry mustard

1 t. ginger

salt and pepper

Salt and pepper your ribs thoroughly. Pour some sauce in the bottom of a large pot, add ribs, pour remaining sauce on top. Cover with a lid and cook on high until it begins to boil. Stir the ribs and turn them down to low. Stir every 15 minutes for about 3 hours, or until they start to fall apart. Yum! It's important to leave the lid on tight unless you are stirring the ribs.

FYI: You can also cook these in the crockpot and it's very similar to the stove top. Just cook on high until they boil, and turn to low for the remaining cooking time. Stir every 15 minutes.

Recipe adapted from: Get Off Your Butt and Bake