Sangria

Yummy note: It has been a long time since I've posted a drink recipe on my blog here, so I thought for this month's Secret Recipe Club, a drink would be perfect. We just had a little dose of the warmer summer weather here, so a cool fruity drink would hit the spot! I saw that Eliot's Eats had several drink recipes that were appealing to just that...Rosemary Lemonade, Blackberry Margaritas, and Sangria, oh boy, they all sound fantastic. A few weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated his birthday at a local winery and they had amazing sangria, so this was my try at recreating a similar drink. I've never made a Sangria before and that sounded like a good recipe to try out. Thanks Debra from Eliot's Eats for such a great tasting recipe!

Sangria

Recipe adapted from Eliot's Eats 

Ingredients:

1 bottle Moscato
1/4 c. limoncello

1/4 c. Amaretto

1/4 c. agave nectar

club soda (to taste)

1 cup frozen mixed berries

2 apples, cored and chopped (leave the peels on)

Directions:

Use a big pitcher or a jug that would fit into the refrigerator. Pour the Moscato wine in your designated container. Add limoncello, Amaretto, and agave nectar and stir the liquids to combine. Add the frozen fruit and cut up apples. Set in the refrigerator for at least on hour to let the flavors combine and chill. Before serving add in the club soda. Serve chilled and enjoy. 

 

A big ole jug of Sangria ready for chillin'!

 

 Don't forget to add some fruit in your glass...in my opinion, that is my favorite part of this, and the addition of the club soda, which makes it nice and fizzy refreshing. 

 

Check out all of the wonderful other bloggers this month in the Secret Recipe Club below.

Jello Knox Blox

Yummy note: My kids love these Jello Knox Blox. It doesn't matter if they are little squares, hearts, or egg-shaped Jello pieces, they are all created equally, haha.. they all get gobbled up! These are much more friendlier for little hands than regular jigglers, which often are a bit more wiggly and end up on the floor :( This Knox Blox recipe was from my mom and now it always seems that my kids anticipate these Jello cubes from Grandma! 

Jello Knox Blox

Ingredients: 
4 envelopes of Knox unflavored gelatin
3 small boxes of Jello flavored gelatin*
4 cups of boiling water
*Note- 3 small boxes of sugar-free Jello works well for this recipe too.





















Directions: 
Combine flavored gelatin and unflavored gelatin in a bowl. Pour the boiling water into the gelatin and stir until well combined and dissolved. Pour into pans and chill. We use an 8x8 pan if we want a thicker Knox Blox, or use a 9x13 pan if a thinner Knox Blox is desired. *Note, sometimes we will just mix the gelatin and boiling water right in the same pan we are refrigerating it in.

Mommy, I can help stir! 

Dress up the Knox Blox with a little whipped cream and fruit!

cadbury egg blonde brownies

Yummy note: Eeny meeny miny moe... How to choose this month's Secret Recipe Club recipe was about like that. I've never been so torn on what to feature! Julie's blog, Julie's Eats and Treats was awesome. So many easy and delicious-looking dishes to pick from, and what I loved even more about it was her stories. I found that Julie's fear of using yeast in many bread recipes was similar to mine over here, as it is soo finicky that I often mess something up with it as well! So, I have this recipe for homemade English muffin bread saved for later, as I really want to make this. We had just gone to Chili's over the weekend, so I had this vividly in my mind and thought about maybe making this salsa. However, I didn't have jalapenos on hand, and I was stuck at home without a trip to the grocery store any time soon, as it felt like the plague, aka stomach flu, had hit us all, so homebound we were...  Comfort food, dessert, yeah.. that's what the doctor ordered here, blonde brownies. This recipe came from Julie's grandmother, how fitting, as it always seems that it is those old recipes that I tend to get drawn to when feeling a little under the weather. I had some leftover Easter candy here, and I'm not a big fan of white chocolate by itself, so I added it into the brownies, like Julie suggested in this Cadbury Egg brownie version! Julie's Eats and Treats tag line is soo true-- Simple, easy but delicious food! 

Cadbury Egg Blonde Brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter, softened - *I used a soy margarine here so it would be dairy-free to accommodate allergies
3 cups of brown sugar
4 eggs
3 cups of flour
2 tsp. of vanilla
1 tsp. of baking powder
1 tsp. of salt
1 bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs - *I used a half bag of Hershey's white chocolate coated candy eggs and a 1/2 bag of dairy-free mini chocolate chips here instead 

Directions:

In a big bowl, mix all of ingredients together, except for the chocolates. Mix well until they are all creamed together. Then spread into a 10x15 jelly roll pan. I wasn't sure on if it was a prepared greased pan, so I took precautionary measures and used some parchment paper on the bottom. *Note, it worked great. Then sprinkle the chocolates on top of the batter. They will sink into the dough as they bake, so if you want to reserve some of the chocolate for the end, you could so it makes a nice topping! *Great tip from Julie here! Bake brownie bars for about 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown and done. Wait until they are cool and cut to enjoy!

I made mine with half white chocolate Easter candy eggs and dairy-free chocolate chips to make it allergen-friendly for our whole family.

What a yummy and easy treat! These blonde brownies remind me of soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies! Thanks Julie and your grandmother for such a wonderful recipe! 

Look at all of the amazing recipes for the April SRC post!

Old-Fashioned Chicken Legs

Yummy note: So I can't believe I haven't posted this before.. I double checked and was like what?! Seriously, no chicken leg recipes here... Interesting, that is not cool, as this meal is a staple for us and my kids LOVE it. Chicken legs are really so easy and it is a good starter for many other meals too. Think about how many times do you have a recipe calling for shredded or cooked diced chicken... chicken tacos, soup, pasta, etc.. So making extra chicken legs when you make this meal, is a perfect way to start those make-ahead leftover meals. These old-fashioned chicken legs, I call them this, as they are very basic, yet flavorful. I grew up with my family making them and having a wonderful gravy made from the drippings as well, served up with mashed potatoes, yum...  You can either make this chicken in the oven or even in a slow cooker if you'd like. When you make the chicken in the slow cooker it produces moist, fall off the bone tender chicken. However, be warned, the chicken will just fall right off the bone, sometimes making it hard to eat without getting too messy, so leave the slow cooker method for the chicken you want for shredding or to toss in other dishes. My favorite is to use my dutch oven and start it on the stove top and finish it in the oven. 

Old-Fashioned Chicken Legs

Ingredients:
6-8 chicken legs, thawed
1/2 cup of flour
salt/pepper
1 - 1 1/2 tsp of herbs & spices – paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, rosemary, thyme, or poultry seasonings

Directions:
Coat chicken with herbs and spices. I never measure this, as it is just a sprinkle here, shake of this, and so on. I probably do about a teaspoon or so of the spices combined. Dredge chicken with flour and make sure it is coated. The next step is important as I think it adds to the appearance and makes the chicken less sticky and more held together at the end. In an oven-proof pan, such as a dutch oven pan,  drizzle a little bit of olive oil (over high heat on the stove) and lightly brown/sear the floured chicken pieces.

This should only take a few minutes, just enough to brown the skin a bit, basically just adding some color. Turn off the heat, and add in a few tablespoons of water or chicken broth just to deglaze the pan. Cover and place in a preheated 325 degree oven and bake for about 45 minutes. Depending on the size of the chicken legs, it could take closer to an hour to bake. Make sure they are fully cooked to the proper temperature of 165 degrees before enjoying.


Slow Cooker Variation:
Directions: 
Omit the flour. Place the seasoned chicken pieces and add 1 cup of water or chicken broth in the slow cooker. Cover and turn on low for about 5-6 hours or on high for for 3-4 hours. Check temperature of chicken to be about 165 to insure it is cooked well, as sometimes in the slow cooker, it is harder to tell if the chicken is done as it doesn't brown as much. You might notice the chicken will start to fall apart when fully cooked as well.

Hummus Bites

Yummy note: Surprise, surprise, it's Secret Recipe Club time! The March assignment brings me to A Couple in the Kitchen, a husband and wife team from Connecticut. Amy and Chris have been blogging strong for several years now. Their blog has been nominated for several awards and recipe recognition, so make sure to check out their list of accomplishments here. Let's start with a couple of my favorites: Sweet Chili and Coconut Corn Soup, oh, do I wish that I had some fresh sweet corn about now to make this soup; made using coconut milk, it is a perfect non-dairy soup to add to my recipe box. Another top choice that looked amazing on this cold, not quite spring day, is this Chocolate Stout Chili. Seriously, I bet the combination of flavors for the stout beer and spicy mole-like ingredients produce an amazing full flavored chili. However, I went with a different recipe to feature. You see, I had this poor little jar of tahini that has been sitting in my kitchen cabinet forever... Seriously, I've been meaning to try and make hummus with it since last summer... yeah, my horrible procrastination. My friend Mandi made amazing hummus at one of our kid's playdates and they loved it, our youngest boys were eating it with their fingers, it was that good. She kept telling me, it is soo easy to make, and I said, sure I'll buy the ingredients and try it one of these days. Haha, the can of chickpeas and tahini sat.. and sat; I never got around to making my hummus, until now. I was finally inspired by A Couple in the Kitchen's take on hummus and its fun presentation. The beautiful color and genius idea of serving hummus in these adorable little fillo cups - perfect for my kiddos hummus fix. LOVE it and I hope you do to. I totally see why it was used for a Halloween recipe, as the beautiful orange color of this hummus was amazing.

Hummus Bites

Recipe from
http://www.acoupleinthekitchen.us/2011/10/halloween-hummus-bites.html

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 lemon using about 3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice, to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons of tahini

1 tsp of prepared minced garlic or 2 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 (7-ounce) jar of roasted red peppers

2 tablespoons of olive oil

box of mini fillo shells

Optional: whole black olives, pitted

 

Directions:  

Combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt, and about 3/4 of the roasted red peppers in a blender or food processor. Pulse the ingredients for a few times and then add in the olive oil, about a teaspoon or so at a time. The mixture will begin to take on different textures, ranging from chunky to smooth, as the olive oil gets incorporated with the other ingredients. Continue pulsing the mixture until the hummus takes on the consistency you'd like. Refrigerate hummus until ready to serve. 

Fill the cute little fillo shells with the hummus and serve. 
Optional finishing touch- Check out A Couple in the Kitchen using the olives and leftover red pepper for a fun presentation.  

Other favorite hummus vehicles include pretzel chips or pita chips and carrots. 

Look at the difference between a homemade version and a store bought hummus. Such a beautiful orange color.  

Banana Bread Donuts

Yummy note: This is a perfect little breakfast, or snack day or night for us. It can be easily adapted to make dairy-free and nut-free which is so nice, as it is hard to find any commercially-prepared donuts that don't have dairy in them. My youngest loves these donuts, and my oldest really likes chocolate chip banana bread, so it was a nice compromise for the two. :) Not to mention, we like to always have these donuts in a hidden freezer stash for us to enjoy. It makes a perfect cold, frozen treat for those little ones when they are having a bad day, especially if they are teething and want something to chomp on that doesn't involve lots of sugar! Besides these donuts being wonderful right out of the freezer, they stay very moist for several days after baking them. My daughter helped me do a lot of the photos for this post, she is getting to be a pretty good little photographer for only 6 :)  Way to hold the camera and for having a good eye, Alicia. 

Banana Bread Donuts

I was inspired to make these by these two recipes:

http://itsyummytomytummy.blogspot.com/2010/04/banana-bread.html

http://www.barbarabakes.com/2012/11/banana-bread-cinnamon-chip-donuts/

Ingredients:

1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 small ones) (the browner the bananas the better)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup yogurt (use a soy yogurt to make these dairy-free)
1/4 cup butter, melted (use a dairy-free alternative butter, or canola oil works) 
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour (use regular all-purpose and whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips, optional Note: Other optional ingredients is to add chopped nuts or even cinnamon chips to your batter before baking. Finishing ingredients: cinnamon/sugar for dusting, or a glaze using chocolate or vanilla frosting

My helper in the kitchen.. 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease/spray donut pans. In a mixing bowl, combine bananas, sugar, yogurt, vanilla, melted butter, and eggs. Next, pour in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until the batter is incorporated. Add in optional chocolate chips or nuts at this point.

For ease of filling the donut pans, do yourself a favor and put the batter into a plastic baggie and cut the corner to eliminate lots of mess. Fill the donut pans about 1/2 to 3/4 full.

The pictures in this above collage were all taken by my 6 year old daughter, Alicia.  Note, I only had to recrop one of her pictures  above of the donut batter, the rest are Alicia's work!

Bake in the 325 degree oven for about 8-9 minutes for the small donuts, and about 10-11 minutes for the larger-sized donuts. Once donuts are done, cool them for a few minutes in the pan, but then remove them from the pan quickly before they get too hard to remove them. Toss with cinnamon/sugar coating or glaze with your choice of a simple frosting/glaze. This recipe makes atleast a dozen or so large donuts, plus a pan or so of little donuts. We like to use both sizes; the little donuts makes great little snacks for the kids.  

Avocado Cup Salad

Yummy note: I am so excited for this month's Secret Recipe Club, as it is my first month with a new to me group of bloggers. In the past year and a half or so, I have been blogging with a great, group B, but I thought a nice change up was in order with the new year. So I offered to switch it up and move to another group, and I got to move to group C. I thought this might be my chance to see some more great food bloggers out there better. I love seeing so many new sites for inspiration. So SRC group C friends, it looks like I am here to party with you now! 

For my first assignment with group C, I was assigned to The Ginger Snap Girl. Wow, what a great first impression of group C, as I just fell in love with Gloria's site. Gloria has such wonderful pictures on her site, that how can you resist not making a bunch of stuff from her blog as they all look so beautiful and tasty! She confesses that her favorite things to bake are cookies, and well, I can't disagree with that. Gloria has several chocolate chip cookies recipe variations on her site, that you must check out and see what kind of cookie fits your cup of tea. I love my cookies too, however, I am trying to eat a bit healthier. Shh.. don't tell anyone that I still love my desserts, and it seems I must eat something little and sweet after my evening meal or else I feel my day isn't complete. So fighting my urges to make these cookies, I went for the avocado cup salad; yes, I did it, I picked something lighter. :)  Oh, but it did not lack any flavor, as this salad was amazing; it had wonderful flavor, texture, and color. Definitely adding it to my rotation of salsas. 

Avocado Cup Salad

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of olive oil1 cup of fresh or frozen sweet corn about a half of a pepper, diced (The Gingersnap Girl recommended using a red, yellow, or orange pepper, However, I used red and green peppers, diced, as that is what I had on hand.)
2 roma or plum tomatoes, cut in half, seeded and diced
1/4 cup of red onion, finely diced
2 teaspoons fresh cilantro (Adjust accordingly, from 1 teaspoon to 2 teaspoons to your liking.)
2 limes
1 small jicama, peeled and cut into thin strips (about 2 cups)
2 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced in half lengthwise
The original recipe called for these ingredients, which I did not use in my recipe. I didn't have them on hand, but I’m sure it would have added extra crunch and flavor! 
1/2 of a green chile or jalapeno, finely diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
tortilla chips, broken into pieces

Directions: 

For the salsa part, heat a pan or skillet with a teaspoon or so of olive oil. Add in the frozen corn, peppers, and the optional chile. Saute for about 10 minutes or until veggies begin to get tender or begins to have a roasted appearance in the pan. Set aside in a small bowl to cool. Begin chopping the tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. Once the roasted corn, pepper, and chile mixture has cooled slightly, add in your chopped tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. Take the juice of one lime and pour over the salsa and stir.

Next, prepare the jicama slaw by peel the jicama and chopping it into thin sticks. Place the jicama in a bowl and toss in a pinch or so of chopped cilantro. Take the juice of your other lime and pour over the jicama and cilantro, and mix until nicely coated.

Prepare your avocados by slicing them in half, and then peeling and pitting them.

Assemble your plates starting with the jicama slaw on the bottom layer, with the half avocado next and then your beautiful salsa on top. Top each salad with a sprinkle of green onions and crushed tortilla chips. 

The Ginger Snap Girl said you can serve 4 side salads with this dish, but I liked it for a main meal dish, so I split it between 2 dishes. I served mine with a simple sauteed shrimp dish and it was a delicious pairing.