Apple Cream Cheese Bar

We have been invited to our brother and sister-in-laws home for Thanksgiving dinner and we are tasked with bringing a second dessert, since pumpkin pie will be the star of the show, I decided to make this Apple Cream Cheese Bar. The idea is that this dessert will compliment the pumpkin pie.

This recipe requires multiple steps to prepare it as there are 4 layers in total to makeup this dish. 

                        1. The first layer is a crust at the bottom made of graham crackers and butter 

                               ... bake at 350 degree for 6-7 mins

                                2. The second layer, is a cream cheese mixture. You have to pay attention so it is layered smoothly and evenly. I used the back of a spoon or you could use a plastic knife for this purpose

                                    

                             

                             3. The third  layer is an apple pie filling, Just drop this filling over the cream cheese                                       layer.....

                      

                        ...here is the evenly smoothed 3rd apple filling layer

                  

                         4. The fourth layer is an oatmeal topping, Again tamp it down lightly using the                                              back of a spoon .

                              Bake in the oven for 50 minutes at 350 degrees, 

                              Let it cool completely and then place it in the freezer for 1-2 hours. 

                              Then you can evenly and easily cut your Apple Cream Cheese Bar. 

           

Recipe:

Crust - bottom layer (1st layer )

1 1/2 cup of crushed graham crackers (from a pack of graham crackers )

3 Tbs soften melted butter or oil

2 Tsp sugar

Lined parchment paper on bottom of 8 x 8 pyrex pan dish.

Mix all ingredients and spread evenly on dish, bake for 7 mins at 350 degree.

Cream Cheese Layer

8 oz soften (room temp) cream cheese

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

Mix all ingredients, with patience, slowly and evenly spread cream cheese mixture using plastic spatula or knife on top of crust layer.

Apple Pie Filling

3 apples peeled and diced into small cubes

2 Tbsp lemon juice (optional)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbs cornstarch

In a sauce pan, over medium heat, cook all ingredients except cornstarch until bubbly.

Add cornstarch as soon as apples are soften/bubbly, stir quickly, turn off stove.

Scoop apple pie filling onto the cream cheese layer.

Again, evenly smoothen apple pie filling topping.

Oatmeal Crumbles layer:

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

6 Tbsp melted butter

Mix well all ingredients, spread over top of Apple pie filling layer.

Lightly tamp down layer.

Bake at 350 degree for 50 mins.

Cool dish completely.

Place dish in freezer for an hour or 2.

Cut Apple Cream Cheese Bar to desired bite size pieces/bars.

Enjoy!!

 

Chicken & Mushroom with Wine Sauce

 I wanted to try a new chicken recipe for dinner. I am not fond of cooking as much as I like my baking. I will cook for friends and family when we entertain, but most of the time I am just not very inspired. I will take my time and plan out my menu. I try my best to make things nice and hospitable, but for our daily meals, they are usually quick and simple dishes that we both know and like. But I would like to be as creative in my cooking as I am in my baking, so this is the dish that I felt would get my creative juices flowing and bring us a tasty dish and some imaginative satisfaction as well. 

This dish is easy to make with lots of juicy flavor that surprised us both. It goes really well with rice and corn or a side salad, Since it went so well, I think I will make it again soon as main dish for guests the next time we host a get together. 

btw: I hope to cook more quick and delicious chicken recipes!

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breast (fillet to 3/4 thick slices)

1/2 cup red wine

4 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp. corn flour (in a small cup, mix enough water to corn flour to form a diluted mixture, set aside)

1/2 cup milk

2 cup chicken broth

3 tsp chopped garlic

1 sliced onion

1 sliced bell pepper, 1 stalk celery, chopped

12 oz. baby Bella mushroom

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. fresh or dried oregano (or thyme)

1 tbsp. oil

Instruction:

Over the stove, heat cooking pan, pour in oil and brown both sides on chicken over medium heat,  flip chicken over when brown, smear 1/2 tsp garlic on top of brown surface of chicken, do the same on the other side, then scoop chicken and set aside chicken on a plate or bowl.

On the pan, add mushrooms, let mushroom cook for awhile before flipping over, once both sides are evenly cooked, gather mushroom to one side of the pan.

Add onions and sauté until tender, add and stir peppers & celery together, sprinkle in salt, balsamic vinegar.

Add in chicken broth, milk, Dijon mustard and wine, let this come almost to a boil, add in the chicken and let this come to boil. Stir in the flour mixture. Turn down heat to medium low and let it simmer for 10 minutes and turn heat off. 

Let pan sit for 5 minutes, scoop chicken dish over or next to warm rice topped with fresh thyme/cilantro sprigs. Dinner is served, enjoy!

Chicken Enchilada with homemade sauce

   I have made these chicken enchiladas a few times in the past, and it seems I have made some real improvements with this dish. My husband says this is true and I hope he is right rather than me praising myself. Could it be  both ? ( ha ha ! )

   I decided to write down this new recipe this time just in case I forget what worked really well this time, so here it goes. 

   One really important and helpful ingredient I used in this recipe is buying a nice juicy rotisserie chicken from BJs. They are really delicious and the juices work well during the bake. First, I tear apart the chicken and chop them up into small cubes. I made chicken broth out of the rotisserie chicken bones, which was a wonderful idea... no waste and super tasty ?!

   I needed the chicken broth to made the enchilada sauce... tada! The enchilada sauce recipe is key to this recipe ... hey you can buy the sauce from the store if you choose to do that but as for me I made my own..hee hee !

Here are the ingredients and instructions on both the enchilada sauce and the casserole.

Enchilada sauce:

3 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup warm water  

1/4 cup flour  (mix flour into the warm water, mix well )

2 tbs cumin

1 tbs chili  ( +/- depending on how spicy you want it to be )

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tbs paprika

1 tbs garlic powder

15 oz mild salsa ( or you also use tomato sauce, I like salsa )

Pour everything together in a sauce pan and cook, stirring occasionally in medium to low heat until bubbly and thicken, turn off heat and let it come to warm or room temperature.

Casserole:

1 medium size onion - chopped

1 recipe enchilada sauce (or at least one can of 28 oz enchilada sauce)

2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

18 to 20 8-inch flour tortillas

I am using 2 Pyrex baking dish, greased the bottom of the dish with a few drops of vegetable/canola oil. Layer a thin layer of enchilada sauce on the dish. 

In a big bowl, combine chopped onions and chicken together.

Add some enchilada sauce to the mixture just enough so the mixture could come together.

Fill each tortilla with 2 heap tablespoon of chicken and sprinkle with some cheddar cheese and roll up tightly and place roll on the dish. 

Place each roll one after another tightly so they fit snugly together.

After all the rolls are in the dish, cover the entire top of dish with enchilada sauce. 

Bake at preheated 350 degree oven for 35 mins.

As soon as the time is up, sprinkle the top of dish with a layer of cheddar cheese and put the dish back to the oven while the oven is still super hot but turned OFF.

After about 5-15 mins, casserole is ready to be served, enjoy!!!

        We put a big dent on this dish after dinner .... it was real treat for our palettes  and our tummies                   were grateful ;)

Hungarian Goulash

I found and love this recipe on https://www.savorytooth.com/hungarian-beef-goulash/ and I have used this recipe a few times. So I am putting this in my blog so I refer to the recipe. I will be adding pictures of the goulash as well. 

INGREDIENTS:

3 pounds beef stew meat cut into 1-2 inch chunks

3 yellow onions chopped (about 2 pounds)

2 cups broth (either beef, vegetable or chicken broth)

6 ounce can tomato paste

10 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/4 cup paprika

2 tsp cayenne 

1 tsp salt

2 Tbs balsamic vinegar

2 Tbs oil (either olive or canola)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. I used a 6 quart dutch oven.

Add onions, garlic, salt, and pepper to the pot. Cook until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Coat the beef chunks in a mixture of paprika and cayenne, and add to the pot. Cook until the beef browns, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add broth, balsamic vinegar, and tomato paste to the pot, and stir. Cover with a lid and let simmer until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Serve and garnish with parsley or cilantro or spring onion (optional) .

Summer Cole Slaw

I call this recipe my 'super simple side'. It goes really well with all summer recipes.

Cabbage is a staple of mine. I always have some in my fridge. If I only have a few veggies available to me,  I just throw some these beautiful ingredients together real fast for a quick side.

White and purple cabbage, granny smith apples, orange peppers and red onions make a sweet, crunchy and colorful slaw that is pleasing to the eyes and tastes just right. A splash of lemon juice, a few tablespoons of mayonnaise with several squirts of ranch dressing. You just give it all a good toss and sprinkle everything with a packet of splenda/equal, salt and pepper for taste, and Voila, Cole slaw ready for any hungry summertime crowd.

Light Stir Fry Koay Teow

Here is a modified version of Penang's 'Char Koay Teow'. My fellow Penangites may not see the value in a healthy version of this beloved Asian delicacy, but I didn't make it to compete with the original recipe of my childhood. I made it for the enjoyment of me and my husband who both loved it, so you may like it also. What's wrong with being tasty and healthy ??

I really enjoyed making this dish. A  light stir fry like this is a quick recipe that only takes a few minutes to make.Prepping the vegetables was most of the work. With this recipe, I used lots of broccoli and red, yellow and orange peppers. Looks great doesn't it ?

Ingredients and recipe as follows: (To be added)

 
        Stir Fry Koay Teow done and ready to serve ... goes well as is or paired nicely with a piece of                grilled meat or seafood

           Plated portion, with a splash of hot sauce, this light dish quarantees to satisfy your palate... maybe even asking for second helpings ;)

Hawaiian Bread Pudding

Every Sunday there is Hawaiian sweet bread left over from our communion service at our church. It is very delicious bread and blessed as well. So I hate to see it to go to waste. But what should I do with all this bread ? Recently my husband and I have begun a low carb diet so bread is no longer a daily part of our meals. So it can't be for us to eat, at least not very often.
 So I think about it and decide to save it until I have enough to make numerous bread pudding casseroles for fellowship functions at our church. I sent a sheet of the dessert to a recent men's event to see how my idea and baking was received. There were many desserts to compete with, so I was surprised that very little of the bread pudding was left over.
 Whole Foods has excellent bread puddings and I was hoping that I could try to make that recipe myself, but I couldn't find their recipe anywhere online. I guess it's a big secret. So I came up with a recipe of my own. Take a look below for the complete recipe. I think the extra eggs and the coconut makes the biggest difference with how mine tastes, at least that is my husband's opinion. Bon apetit !

 I also made some delicious Ham & Cheese Pinwheels, here is my recipe to send to the fellowship party.

Ingredients:  (for easy instructions, I provided a one recipe I made  1 1/2 recipe for extra large dish)
1 loaf of hawaiian bread, cut in small cubes.
3 cup milk
1 cup sugar
8 eggs
1 1/2 Tbs flour
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup sweetened shedded coconut
1 tsp cinnamom
2 Tbs butter (room temp)

Directions:
On a baking dish, spread thin layer of butter all over the dish, bottom and sides.
Layered and pack bread cubes on dish.
Sprinkle raisins and coconut on top of bread cubes.
Followed with sprinkle cinnamon on top.
On mixer, mix eggs and sugar starting with low speed and increase to medium speed.
Then reduce speed to low and slowly pour stream of milk into mixer while mixer is running at low speed. Once all milk is added and mix well, turn mixer off.
Pour egg & milk mixture over baking dish to soak ensuring all the bread is soaked in.

Bake at preheated oven at 325 degree for 1 hour.
Turn off oven, slightly let oven door stay opened by inserting a knife between the oven door.
After 15 mins, take bread pudding oven.
Cut and serve over ice cream or caramel sauce or alone, yum!

                       

                                            ingredients all line up

                                             buttered dish filled with hawaiian bread cubes

                                          top and sprinkled with raisins & shedded coconuts

                          bread filled dish soaked with egg & milk mixture ready to go into oven

Ham & Cream Cheese Pinwheels / Roll Ups

I needed to make a savory dish for an upcoming fellowship function the men of our church are having soon. I talked with my husband about what the men might like and I came up with a neat little recipe. I think it's a simple dish with simple instructions.

I have a bunch of tortillas in my fridge that need to be used, so I make use of them in this dish. I have decided to make an appetizer called pinwheel roll ups. They are filled with ham and cream cheese. I am using 2 kinds of ham, the regular plain ham and the gourmet black forest ham. ( its what I have in my freezer :)  ... that black forest ham is really good. It will definitely be  Delish ;)

 I was able to prepare and finish about 15 or 16 tortillas. Each tortilla makes 4 pinwheel roll ups. I also did a short video showing how easy it is to make these treats. I would recommend these for a fast and tasty treat for your next party!

See a short video below on how I prepare these pinwheels :)  (after the pictures)

This is my first video, take a look ;)

Ingredients:
1 8oz cream cheese ( room temperature)
3 Tbs sour cream
3 Tbs peppercorn dressings ( you can use Ranch dressings as well or just replace with sour cream if you prefer)
1 1/2 pound of ham ( I used 1/2 regular ham and 1/2 black forest ham)
2 bags of 10" Tortillas ( each bag contains 10 tortillas - I didn't use the entire 2 bags)

Mix the first 3 items together in a bowl.
On a flat dinner plate ( or you can use a cutting board ), lay a piece of tortilla bread on plate.
Spread 2 tsp of cream cheese on tortilla.
Lay ham over cream cheese.
Roll tightly and cut into 4 pieces evenly, leave the ends off.
Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Enjoy !