Caramel Filled Chocolates

Another of my food loves is chocolate. After taking a class last fall, I've made chocolates several times, and today after buying some new molds and caramel I tried filled chocolates for the first time. They're so easy if you have the right tools, and my family (including my brother who helped me) agreed that they're better than store bought!

Here is what you'll need:
Chocolate molds deep enough to add filling to
Squeeze-ums Caramel filling
Small squeeze bottle
Paintbrush that hasn't been used for painting before
Pot and metal bowl
And of course, chocolate wafers for melting!

If this is the first time you're using your molds, take a cotton ball and polish the insides of the molds with it; this is how you clean them and will make the chocolates really shiny! Don't put the molds in the microwave or dishwasher, or even wash with hot water, or they'll melt.
Fill the pot halfway with water and set to medium. Pour chocolate wafers into the metal bowl and set over the pot of water (simmering, not boiling). Stir the wafers; when they've begun to melt, turn the heat to low. When fully melted spoon into squeeze bottle using an ice cream scoop. A normal spoon will work as well but is much messier. Make sure the lid is tight and then squeeze enough chocolate into each mold to come about halfway up.

 

Using your paintbrush, brush up the sides of each mold, covering every surface up to the top. If this layer of chocolate is too thin, add more chocolate and brush the sides again. You want the layer to be thick enough that you can't see the plastic. Stick this in the fridge and continue melting chocolate; you'll need about the same amount as before if not more. If you still have chocolate in the bowl add as many wafers as you need and stir to prevent it becoming too hot and hardening.

Once the chocolate in the molds has lost its sheen and it hard to the touch, it's time for the caramel! Mush it around in the bag with your hands to warm it up for a few minutes before use. I used a small cutting board to push the caramel in the bag from the back towards the point, so as to not waste any, but if you have a putty knife that would work too. It has to be something firm and stiff, otherwise you won't be able to squeeze all of the wonderful caramel to the point! Cut the point off on an angle and twist the top of the bag like a piping bag, then you can start adding the caramel to the chocolate molds. You don't want this layer to be too high or there will be no more room for the next layer of chocolate. Using your fingers you can press the caramel down until it's flat and at your desired thickness.

This time you don't have to refrigerate between layers. Spoon some more melted chocolate into your squeeze bottle and fill the molds up to the top. To level the chocolate tap on the counter or table several times until even. If you overfilled the molds it will spill over but once hardened you can simply break off any excess, and with practise you can avoid this. Stick the trays back into the fridge for about 10 minutes. The chocolates are done when you upturn the tray over a plate and they fall out(sometimes with a bit encouragement, either tapping them, pushing on them or twisting the tray). If they don't come out easily just stick them back in the fridge for a few more minutes.

You will have no trouble enjoying these!

To store the caramel, push from the tip of the bag back towards the back, as far as you can, and tie off. Once the chocolate in the squeeze bottle hardens you can squish it a bit until the chocolate cracks, and pour it back into your bag of chocolate wafers. As for any chocolate left over in the metal bowl, that's fit to eat as is! Just don't burn your fingers.

Tomato Basil Chicken

Staying true to my healthy diet, I made this as an experiment for supper last night and it was a huge hit. I love tomato and basil together and this is so easy to make!

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons condensed tomato soup
1/2 cube chicken stock
1 cup boiled water

1 1/2 tbsp dried basil leaves
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp salt

Boil the chicken until fully cooked, no longer pink on the inside. While boiling preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and mix the spices in a bowl. Boil 1 cup water and in a bowl add half a cube of chicken stock (the kind I used was 2 cups boiling water per cube, but if amounts differ just adjust to use 1 cup). Let dissolve and stir. Pour into baking pan; this is to keep the chicken moist while cooking. When the chicken is boiled, place it in the baking pan; the stock mix should reach about halfway up. Take 2/3 of the spice mix and spread evenly across the chicken, and gently rub in.

Place pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Then take it out and add the condensed tomato soup, 1 tbsp spread evenly on the top of each piece of chicken, not too thin or too thick. Sprinkle the remaining spice mix on top and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Then turn the oven to broil and watch closely to ensure it doesn't burn. This should take between 5-10 minutes. The chicken is done when the tomato just starts to show dark patches but before it actually burns.

Serve hot by itself, or with tomato soup using what's left in the can, or like my brother did, with rice! No matter how you chose to serve it, this is a delicious meal for anyone who loves chicken. Enjoy!

Low-Calorie Omelette

I haven't posted in a while due to a new health food diet I've started, which means no more cupcakes, cinnamon roll pancakes, or cookies for a while! In that light I've decided to add a few healthier recipes to the blog.

An omelette is a really good health food item for lunch, because even though there are only two eggs in it, you feel like you're eating a lot more, and it fills up more of the plate, which tricks your brain into thinking you're more full than you would be if you hard boiled the eggs or scrambled them. This recipe is only 200 calories which is perfect for any healthy diet!

2 eggs
Salt
Pepper
Seasoning Salt
Green Onions

Spray a pan with cooking spray (for a less healthy version butter is ok but I prefer non stick cooking spray) and turn on low heat. While the pan is heating beat two eggs in a bowl, add a sprinkle each of salt, pepper, and seasoning salt and beat again. Pour into pan and turn the heat up to medium/high. Chop up half of the green leaf of the onion and sprinkle evenly on top of the eggs once cooked on the bottom and the top is still raw. When ready flip the omelette, until just browned on the bottom. Serve hot and sprinkled with salt.

Apple Pie Cupcakes

Cupcake Batter
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
2 eggs
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

Apples
1 apple, diced
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sugar

Cream Cheese Icing
6 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

In a small bowl mix the yogurt with water until it's a smooth consistency. Whisk together the dry ingredients for the Cupcake Batter first, then add the wet ingredients (including the yogurt and water mixture) slowly with a wooden spoon, stirring constantly until smooth. Place the finely chopped apple into a bowl with melted butter, stir until fully coated. Add the cinnamon and sugar, stir again, and mix in with the batter mixture. Spoon the batter evenly into greased or paper lined cups, about 3/4 full, and bake. Cupcakes will be done when slightly firm to the touch, approx 18 minutes.

For the cream cheese icing, mix together butter and cream cheese, both softened, until smooth. Would probably work best with an electric mixer but I was able to do it fine with a whisk; a wooden spoon would work as well. Then add the vanilla and stir. Just a half cup at a time add the powdered sugar and whisk together slowly until all the powdered sugar is mixed in, then stir briskly until smooth. Continue adding half cups of powdered sugar until it reaches your desired sweetness; 2 full cups worked for me, if you want it a bit tangier, then only use 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. Once mixed smoothly you can either spread on the cupcakes straight away or, if you want the icing a bit firmer, place in the freezer for about 5 minutes.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Baked Chicken Bites

Perfect for game day or a party, these chicken bites are easy to make and easier to eat!

3 large chicken breasts
2 eggs
1/2 sleeve (approx) of plain salted crackers
Salt
Pepper
Garlic salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Boil the chicken on high until maximum temperature is reached, then lower it to medium to boil until cooked. Once the chicken is no longer pink inside, it's fully cooked; remove it from the pot and onto a plate or cutting board. Cut into pieces about 1-2 inches cubed roughly. Beat two eggs in a bowl, and in another, crush the crackers into crumbs; large pieces are fine but make sure they're not too big.

Coat one piece of chicken in the egg, transfer to cracker crumbs and cover completely before placing on a baking sheet. Repeat with each piece of chicken until finished and dispose of any extra egg or cracker crumbs. Sprinkle salt over the chicken to preference, then the pepper and garlic salt, about half the amount you used for the salt. Then melt the butter, add in the lemon juice, and pour evenly over each chicken bite, about a teaspoon each. This was the perfect amount for what I had but if you need more, adjust measures of butter and lemon juice. Then stick them in the oven for between 15 and 20 minutes, until golden brown. Because the chicken was already boiled until ready to eat there's no need to worry about making sure that it's done inside, because it already is.

Serve hot with ketchup, mustard, honey mustard, mayo, or whatever your preference for dipping sauce is!

This would be the perfect recipe to liven up any leftover boiled chicken, or simply boil the chicken before your event and refrigerate until needed, as after boiling it takes under 10 minutes to prepare! Enjoy!

Valentine's Vanilla Cupcakes with Creamy Fudge Icing

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Whether you're spending it with a special someone or not, baking is extra fun because you get to cover everything in hearts! And on the 15th you'll be able to go out and buy chocolates at crazy low prices, which I think is always a bonus no matter what holiday it is.

For these cupcakes I had planned to make my own chocolate icing, but for the sake of time/money/number of dishes I went with some delicious store bought icing instead. Even though I took it out of the fridge a long time before to let it warm to room temperature it wasn't quite soft enough to spread, so I melted it in a bowl over a pot of boiling water just enough for it to be spreadable without tearing the cupcakes.

The cupcakes themselves were very basic. This is all you need:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup softened (not melted) butter
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Stir together the dry ingredients first, then add in the wet ingredients slowly, stirring constantly. This works best if mixing with a whisk. Stir until smooth; you can use a mixer if you prefer but it was easy enough for me to do by hand. Spoon the mixture (I used a 1/3 cup measure to do this as it was the perfect amount) into muffin cups, either greased or paper-lined, about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full. Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, between 15 and 20 minutes. Cupcakes will feel slightly firm to the touch. Let cool completely before icing; I placed them in the freezer for 5 minutes while warming the icing. Once frosted you can continue to decorate however you want.

For the cute little red hearts, I used a candy writer that tastes like chocolate, which I found at a cake supplies store around Christmas to make candy cane chocolate. I drew the hearts on a sheet of wax paper and left them to harden on the counter while the cupcakes were in the oven. Make sure the icing is at least as cool as room temperature before putting the hearts on top, though, otherwise they'll melt!

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

Like most anyone else, I love sugar cookies. And I love cinnamon. So with these cookies you have the best of both worlds!

I started with a simple recipe for sugar cookies after looking up a few different ones, all pretty much the same. I halved the recipe because of limited supplies but if you have enough, I'd highly suggest making the full amount; these won't last long!

2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 1/4 cups of margarine

2 cups of white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon mixed for decoration

After preheating the oven to 350 degrees F, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Then in another bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Bit by bit, stir in the dry ingredients until just blended. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets and flatten slightly with a fork.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned at the edges. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

 

Notes:

-It's very important that you make the cookies small and place them far apart; mine ended up huge and baked into each other.

-To make them into perfect circles I used a glass as a cookie cutter as soon as I pulled them out of the oven, and then let them cool fully. You could do this with any shape if you desire; I'll be making heart shaped cookies for Valentine's Day!

-If you want you could also add some cinnamon into the actual cookie mixture, but it's such a strong flavour that I didn't want it to overpower the taste of sugar and vanilla. It came out very well just rolling the cookies in it but again, it depends on your personal taste.

 

To place the cookie on the edge of the glass I cut a narrow slit not quite halfway up the cookie, having seen the idea on Pinterest. This would be a great way to serve cookies either at a party, for breakfast, or like I did, just for yourself to enjoy!