Sunday, April 27, 2014


Ingredients you’ll need for this tutorial are:
Knife (serrated)
Circle cutter (2cm / 3/4″)
Knife (butter)
Star piping tip
Piping bag
Cupcake to frost
Mini m&m’s
Sprinkles
Jaffas (or crispy / peanut m&m’s)
Ice cream wafter or easy to cut cookie

Step 1
Take your baked, cooled cupcakes and your circle cutter. Gently core out a small circle from the centre of your cake, being careful to keep the cored section in tact.
Tip: Twisting the cutter as you cut the core helps to release it cleanly
Step 2
Firmly pack the centre of your cupcake with mini m&ms or any other small candy (nerds, rainbow chips, choc rocks etc). The smaller the candy, the better your piƱata spill effect will be
Step 3
Take your ‘core’ and cut the very top off – place the top back onto the candy packed core of your cupcake and press down to seal the candy in
Step 4
Decorate as normal! I used a simple star piping tip to create a beautiful Sundae Style swirl, then added sprinkles, a red candy and a cut ice cream wafer to give mine a classic and simple cupcake decoration which doesn’t give away the secret candy stash, hidden beneath the surface


Ingredients:
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 4 tsp. honey
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
frosting:
  • 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1/3-1/2 cup whole milk (start out with 1/3 cup of milk and add more milk to your desired consistency)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
liqueur for drizzling on the cake layers (i.e. chocolate, coffee or almond)
melted chocolate for drizzling, :
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2-3 Tbs. heavy cream or vegetable oil
semi-sweet chocolate chips for the sides of the cake
assorted chocolate candies for the top of the cake
Instructions:
To make the cake:
(Note: Instead of milk, you can replace it with water or cooled brewed coffee. Instead of butter, you can use vegetable oil. Instead of honey, you can use corn syrup or agave nectar. Instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips, you can use Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips. For allergen-free alternatives for the candies, you can try Enjoy Life chocolate chips, bars or cookies)
Preheat oven to 325 350 F degrees. Grease and dust two to three 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans with cocoa powder or flour. Set aside.
Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, combine milk, butter, honey and vanilla extract. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the milk/butter mixture. Mix until combined. Fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips. Pour in the batter into prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and wait for about 10 minutes to remove from cake pans and place on a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before decorating.
To make the frosting:
Note: instead of butter, you can use any allowed margarine, Spectrum organic vegetable shortening, or coconut oil. Instead of milk, you can use rice milk or soy milk.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add the butter, milk and vanilla extract. Using an electric mixer, slowly mix together at a low speed. Once all the ingredients are combined, increase the speed and beat till fluffy.
To assemble the cake:
Place the first cake layer on a plate or cake circle. Lightly drizzle with liqueur. Spread an even layer of frosting. Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting. Lightly drizzle with liqueur. Cover the sides and top of the cake with frosting. Cover the sides of the cake with semi-sweet chocolate chips and cover the top with assorted chocolate candies. Drizzle the melted chocolate all over the top of the cake and let it drip down the sides of the cake.

Ingredients

    Orange Chicken Ingredients:
  • 2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • orange chicken sauce (ingredients below)
  • toppings: thinly-sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, orange zest
  • Orange Chicken Sauce Ingredients:
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup honey (add more to sweeten, if desired)
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. white pepper
  • zest of one orange
  • pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
  • (Optional: Quinoa Ingredients)
  • 1 cup dry quinoa
  • 2 cups chicken broth

Method

To Make The Orange Chicken:
Season chicken generously with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute for about 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and nearly cooked through.
Pour in the orange chicken sauce, and stir to combine. Let the sauce come to a boil, then boil for an additional minute or two until thickened. Remove from heat and serve immediately over quinoa or rice. Garnish with green onions, sesame seeds and additional orange zest.
To Make The Orange Chicken Sauce:
Whisk all ingredients together until combined. If you would like the sauce to be even sweeter, add an extra 2-4 tablespoons of honey.

Ingredients
  1. 1 pound ground chicken or turkey
  2. 2 tablespoons of mixed herbs
  3. Salt and pepper to taste
  4. 2 ripe avocados
  5. 6 slices of bacon
  6. Large handful of spinach
  7. 2 large tomatoes sliced
Instructions
  1. 1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
  2. 2. Using your hands, combine the ground chicken or turkey, mixed herbs, salt and pepper in a bowl.
  3. 3. Form the mixture into six or eight circular burger shapes, but flatten them down so they are around 1-inch thick. (These will form the ‘bun’ for the burger.)
  4. 4. Place the burgers on a grill tray and cook for about 20 minutes, or you can panfry if pushed for time (this takes around 10 minutes).
  5. 5. While the burgers are cooking, start to prepare your filling.
  6. 6. Scoop all the flesh out of the avocados into a bowl, add salt and pepper, and simply mash together until creamy (keep it a little chunky like a guacamole ).
  7. 7. Cook the bacon in a frying pan until nice and golden.
  8. 8. Remove the burger ‘buns’ from the oven.
  9. 9. Assemble the layers in this order: meat bun, spinach leaves, two rashers of bacon, two spoonfuls of mashed avocado, tomato slices, and top with another meat bun.
  10. 10. Admire your creation for a few minutes then wolf it down you whilst it’s still hot!

Ingredients:

2 cups coarsely mashed sweet potatoes (or yams), about 2 large potatoes
2 bulbs of roasted garlic
1 cup cannellini benas (rinsed and drained if canned)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup oat flour (or all-purpose, wheat, etc)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cumin
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 avocado, sliced
2/3 cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream
1 teaspoon maple syrup
extra salt and pepper for seasoning yogurt/cream
4 whole wheat buns

Directions:

To roast garlic, see this tutorial. I like to roast a few bulbs at once (like 4-5) to have for the week.
Pierce potatoes (I used 2 large) all over with a fork and place on a paper towel, setting in the microwave. Microwave for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove, slice in half and let cool until you can scoop out the flesh.
In a large bowl, coarsely mash beans with a fork. Add in sweet potato and mash together, then add in spices, salt and pepper, minced garlic, egg, panko and flour. Mix together until combined, then place bowl in the fridge for 15-20 minutes. This helps form them into patties, but as a warning they are still somewhat messy.
While mixture is chilling, combine yogurt/sour cream with 2 bulbs (squeezed out) of roasted garlic cloves, maple syrup and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth then set aside until ready to use.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Remove mixture from fridge and form into 4 equal patties, then place in the skillet once hot. Since the mixture can be wet and messy, do not move until they are fully cooked and golden on one side! This takes about 5-6 minutes. Then, add more oil if needed (this really helps cook them) and flip burgers very gently. Cook for another 5-6 minutes. Toast buns if desired.
Assemble by topping burgers with roasted garlic cream and avocado! We also used caramelized red onion one night and it was delicious.

Sunday, April 13, 2014















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