Month: March 2016

Sushi Bowls

sushi-bowl

Greg and I were first introduced to sushi shortly after moving to Florida, twelve years ago. I am a little pickier than he is, but we are both huge fans.

Sushi is basically a food preparation that originated in Japan. It consists of cooked vinegared rice combined with ingredients such as raw or cooked seafood and vegetables. It is often served with pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce.

We have a couple of favorite sushi restaurants that we still visit when we are in Florida. However, since moving back to Georgia, we have not been able to find a spot that we enjoy. So, I have found an incredible, no fuss, substitute to make at home. It’s the sushi bowl. Set up a sushi bar and have your guests customize their sushi bowl exactly the way they like it.

There are endless possibilities for your sushi bar. A few of my favorites are steamed shrimp, imitation crab meat, cucumbers, carrots, and avocados. However, you can even offer grilled sirloin and raw seafood if you prefer. I urge you to follow the recommended guidelines for eating raw fish if you decide to use raw seafood products.

Sushi Bowls
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 c. sushi rice
  • 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. sugar
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • Suggestions for toppings:
  • Sliced avocado,
  • Carrot stirps
  • Cucumber, seeds removed and sliced into strips
  • Steamed shrimp
  • Sushi grade tuna
  • Smoked salmon
  • Chopped scallions
  • Nori, thinly sliced
  • Tobiko
  • Pickled ginger
  • Toasted sesame seeds
  • Soy Sauce
  • Wasabi
  • Spicy Mayonnaise (recipe follows)
Instructions
  1. To prepare rice, rinse under cold water until water runs clear. Drain.
  2. Cook rice according to package directions.
  3. Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan heat 3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt. Simmer, stirring often until sugar and salt dissolve. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.
  4. When rice has finished cooking, remove the rice from the pot and into a wooden or plastic bowl, using a wooden spoon. Do not use metal and do not scrape the bottom of the pot.
  5. Add rice vinegar mixture to the rice right away. Mix gently with wooden spoon and set aside to allow rice to reach room temperature. Do not put rice in the refrigerator to cool of faster.
  6. Spoon rice into medium sized serving bowls. Add toppings of your choice and serve with chop sticks.

 

 

Spicy Mayonnaise
 
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Ingredients
  • 5 tbsp. mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp. Siracha
Instructions
  1. Mix together with a whisk, until smooth.

Creamy Banana Pudding

 

creamy-banana-pudding

I ran across this old recipe the other day. It was a pudding that I would fix for the kids when they were little. I can remember them helping me with this Creamy Banana Pudding when the vanilla wafers were almost as big as their little hands. I had not made this banana pudding in years. All it took was running across it in an old stack of recipes, and it was on the table for dessert that night.

The family loved it. This is a simple, easy, no fuss dessert, but you would have thought I had served them something from a 5-star restaurant. I thought this would be a great recipe to share with you.  It can be made in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or you can make cute little shot glass desserts.   It’s an excellent dessert for cook-outs, covered dish dinners, or just a simple weeknight dinner surprise.

creamy-banana-pudding-1

 

Creamy Banana Pudding
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 box Vanilla wafers
  • 2 (3.4-oz.) boxes Instant vanilla pudding
  • 1 c. milk
  • 8-oz. sour cream
  • 1 lg. container Cool Whip
  • 4 bananas
Instructions
  1. Whisk pudding, milk, sour cream together in a large bowl. Fold in ⅔ of the Cool Whip.
  2. Cover the bottom, pf a 9 x 13-inch dish with one layer of vanilla wafers. Place one slice of banana on top of each wafer. Spread half of the pudding mixture on top of bananas. Add another layer of wafers and bananas and spread remaining pudding mixture over top. Top with remaining Cool Whip. Refrigerate until time to serve. Store in the refrigerator.
Notes
You can layer these ingredients in small shot glasses.

 

Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake

 

Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake

On holidays, I desire the traditional flavors. The tastes that take me back to sweet memories. Memories of simpler times, times spent with family, lots of laughter, and loads of love. This Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake takes me there!

Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake

 

Pineapple upside down cakes are traditionally one layer cakes, decorated with fruit and a sugary glaze on the bottom of the pan, then served upside down. The recipes have been around for years and graced many of our grandmother’s tables.

 

Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake

This recipe brings two great traditions together for one fantastic dessert! The pound cake has a delicious glaze and is beautifully decorated with pineapple and cherries, but it’s all done in a Bundt pan!  Such a great dessert for Easter!

 

This cake is delectable! I felt that this cake was best served fresh.   In fact, while it was still warm was my favorite time to enjoy eating this cake. I stored any leftover cake in the refrigerator then zapped it in the microwave for about 10 seconds before serving from the refrigerator.

 

4.5 from 4 reviews
Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake
 
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Ingredients
  • 6 tbsp. unsalted butter
  • ¾ c. packed brown sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 lg. can (approx. 20-oz.) pineapple slices, drained well and cut in half
  • Approx. 16 maraschino cherries, drained well and dried
  • 12-oz. unsalted butter, room temperature (3 sticks)
  • 18-oz. granulated sugar (2½ c.)
  • 2½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 gently rounded tsp. salt
  • 5 eggs, room temperature, beaten
  • 13-oz. cake flour (2¾ c.)
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 8-oz. chopped pineapple, drained
  • 2 oz. sour cream, room temperature
Instructions
  1. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan, set aside. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Melt 6 tbsp. butter in a small saucepan. Add ¾ c. brown sugar and pinch salt and cook until dissolved. Bring to a boil. When bubbly, with no butter sloshing around the edge, pour into greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan. Arrange pineapple pieces and cherries in the bottom of the bundt pan as shown above, set aside.
  3. Whisk together the cake flour and baking powder until well combined. Set aside.
  4. Puree pineapple and sour cream together in a blender. Set aside.
  5. Cream the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla until light and fluffy, scrapping the bowl often.
  6. With the mixer on medium speed, add the beaten eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition, until completely incorporated. Stop to scrap down the sides of bowl as necessary.
  7. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients, mixing on low just until each addition is incorporated. Begin and end with dry ingredients for a total of 3 dry additions and 2 wet additions.
  8. Carefully spoon batter over the caramel pineapple layer in the prepared pan.
  9. Smooth the batter, and bake in preheated oven 55 minutes or until done. Place a cookie sheet on the rack below the cake to catch any caramel that might spill over. (this was not a problem with my cake)
  10. Remove cake from oven and cover with a piece of foil. Let stand for 45 minutes, then turn out onto a cake plate. Replace any fruit pieces that may have stuck in the pan and smooth down
  11. Serve at room temperature.

 

No Bake Peanut Butter M&M Balls

No-Bake-Peanut-Butter-M&M-Balls

 

Katy, a little girl in the sixth grade from Charlotte, North Carolina, enjoys helping out in the kitchen. Some of Katy’s favorite recipes to make are from Not Just Sunday Dinner. A few of her NJSD favorites are Nan’s Easy Skillet Apple Pie and Pizza Dip, two of my favorites also!  Katy recently shared this yummy candy recipe with me. These no bake peanut butter M&M balls are simple and addicting! They are the prefect snack to serve at your Easter egg hunts or any other Easter gathering.

I increased the powdered sugar measurement from 2 1/2 cups to 3 3/4 cups because I felt they were easier to roll. Thank you so much for sharing your delicious recipe, Katy! I look forward to you sharing many new recipes with me.

No Bake Peanut Butter M&M Balls
 
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Ingredients
  • 1½ c. creamy peanut butter
  • ½ c. melted unsalted butter
  • 3¾ c. powdered sugar
  • Heaping ½ c. M & M's candies
  • 1 c. milk chocolate chips
  • 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Place peanut butter and butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 1 minute. Stir mixture until smooth. Heat 15 to 30 seconds longer if you need to.
  2. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Add M & M's and stir.
  3. Roll into balls and place on a parchment paper lined pan. Place in the refrigerator while you prepare the chocolate coating.
  4. Place chips in a microwaveable bowl and heat on high for 1 minutes. Stir and continue heating in 15-20 second intervals, stirring after each, until the chocolate is completely smooth.
  5. Dip peanut butter balls in chocolate, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl. Place on prepared pan and place back in the refrigerator until set.
  6. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

 

Guacamole

Guacamole

Mexican food has always been one of my favorite cuisines to prepare and eat. When I was a young, not-so-good cook, I got my hands on a Mexican cookbook that helped fuel my love for cooking. As a result, I had several favorite Mexican dishes that were part of my regular line-up.

Homemade guacamole is about as good as it gets when you want an appetizer that everyone will love. Of course, the fresh taste is always a plus, but the health benefits are also impressive. They are heart-healthy, and they may even help prevent cancer.

Homemade guacamole is super simple, and fresh is always best! You can customize the recipe by adding additional onions or tomatoes, cayenne pepper, or Tabasco for a bit of heat. Serve as a side with all your favorite Mexican dishes, add to avocado toast, or, even better, top a toasted hashbrown patty with this fresh guacamole! Top that off with a sprinkle of everything but the bagel seasoning, fried bacon, and an overlight egg for the perfect breakfast!

4.0 from 1 reviews
Guacamole
 
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Ingredients
  • 3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
  • ¼ c. chopped onions
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 to 3 tbsp. cilantro leaves, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, seeds removed and chopped
  • 2 to 3 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Place avocado in a medium bowl and mash a little. When you mix all of the ingredients together it will break up even more, so if you like chunky guacamole don't mash it up too much to begin with.
  2. Add onion, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, tomatoes, lime, salt and pepper and stir. Taste for seasoning.
  3. Let stand in the refrigerator, or at room temperature, for 1 hour.