Asian Lettuce Wraps

Yummy note:  I have enjoyed an Asian flair lately in my cooking. Usually once a week now, in my meal plans I have started to incorporate an Asian night. I'm not sure if it is the easy to toss ingredients together to make something delicious, or if it is healthier, or perhaps it has to do with it is really easy to make dairy-free for my family. I find these Asian Lettuce Wraps great to make as a main meal dish. They are fairly quick to make and I often have almost all of the staple ingredients in my cabinet which makes for an affordable meal. I hope you enjoy these lettuce wraps as much as we do.



Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

a head of lettuce (or about 10 lettuce leafs)

1 lb ground turkey, beef, or chicken

a handful or about a cup of shredded carrots (optional)

about a cup of diced mushrooms

1/2 white onion-chopped (I often use dried onion flakes or powder if not available)

2 tbsp garlic minced

1 small can water chestnuts, chopped

1 tbsp red pepper flakes

1-2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp vegetable or sesame oil
1/4 cup hoisin sauce

handful of thin sliced green onions, optional

Directions:  

Brown the meat. Then add in onion, garlic, shredded carrots, water chestnuts, soy sauce, vinegar, and red chili pepper flakes.  

After the carrots and mushrooms begin to soften, add in hoisin sauce, green onions, and extra oil if needed. Cook until mixed together and green onions begin to wilt, just for a few minutes really.

Serve in large lettuce leafs like a wrap or serve in a tortilla shell too if you wish. 

To garnish you can also add in fried thin rice noodles to the top. 

Chocolate Cupcakes

Yummy note: When I got this month's Secret Recipe Club assignment, I took a lot of time looking at Sarah's wonderful blog named Sarah's Kitchen.  Many of the recipes she posted are straightforward and pretty good-looking comfort foods that I could see eating night after night. I am sure her husband, Randal, that she blogs about quite frequently, really gets some great eats! Despite some wonderful main dish recipes that I've bookmarked, I keep seeing beautiful cupcakes... and well, more beautiful cupcakes taunting me.. Sarah, congrats, you had me at cupcake. It was like I shut my eyes, and saw these awesome pictures of cupcakes all lined up, with fluffy frosting, yummy and tasty looking. So enough of the gawking, I had to dive right in, and try it out myself. I really had a hard time picking, I really wanted to make these Salted Caramel Mocha brownie ones, but then I thought about these Caramel ones, and finally I came to a realization I can't eat all these cupcakes myself.... So in typical It's Yummy to My Tummy fashion, I got my non-dairy thinking cap on and decided to think rational and pick a cupcake recipe that had the best options to make dairy-free. These chocolate biscoff ones seemed appropriate  Plus, anytime I can use biscoff spread, count me in. 

Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe with adaptions from: 

http://sarahsbritamericankitchen.blogspot.com/2012/05/chocolate-cupcakes-with-biscoff.html

Dairy-Free Chocolate Cupcakes 

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

6 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 cup coffee
1/2 cup soy yogurt 
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: 

Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, cream sugar, vegetable oil, and egg until smooth, for just a few minutes. On low speed, blend in half of the dry ingredients until incorporated. Next, blend in the coffee, yogurt, and vanilla. Add in the remaining dry ingredients, and mix until just incorporated. Using an ice cream scoop, evenly distribute into cupcake wrappers. Bake at 350 for about 22-24 minutes. Makes 12 cupcakes. 

Biscoff Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup butter substitute, softened

3/4 cup biscoff spread
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp soy milk or soy creamer

Directions:
Beat the butter substitute and biscoff spread until smooth.  Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until combined.  Add in some soy milk and beat until it is creamy and combined well. 


To make some decorations, I just melted about a cup or so of non-dairy chocolate chips with a teaspoon of shortening together. Then I poured the melted chocolate into mini cookie cutters to set. Then you push out the chocolate when set and you have pretty cut-out chocolates to decorate cupcakes with. 

I need some serious help or therapy though... I couldn't stop at the Biscoff frosting. I had to indulge and make one of these Swiss Meringue Buttercream frostings I've read all about from Sarah. I've never made one like this before, so it was a bit intimating. Trust me, I wish I had a few pictures while making the frosting, but I was freaking out a bit too much. It was a bit more temperamental than I was ready for... but eventually got it to work. It took time for mine to "set up" as it looked all weird, soupy, and then curdled all in a matter of a few minutes, so as my mixer whirled the frosting together, I quickly sought out reinforcements and read up on Swiss meringue frosting.  Go ahead, some day when you are bored, Google it, and be educated about frosting. :) After my, mini freak outs, the frosting came together, and it was pretty and tasted smooth and silky buttery like Sarah frequently mentioned in several blog posts. It was now ready to decorate my moist chocolaty cupcakes!  Here's the link from the recipe I followed for the Swiss Meringue Frosting from Sarah's Kitchen- http://sarahsbritamericankitchen.blogspot.com/2011/12/snowflake-cupcakes.html

This cupcake recipe was so easy to make, that I don't know why you would want to use the boxed mixes, when you can get such great flavor and depth from this recipe! They were super moist and delicious. I will surely make these again. Thanks again Sarah for sharing your great recipes. 

For more information about the Secret Recipe Club, check it out --> http://secretrecipeclub.com

frozen yogurt covered fruit bites

Yummy note: I had a large container of soy yogurt that was getting close to the expiration date, so I knew I needed to use it up quick. I already had made some muffins and didn't want to use it for baking, so I decided I was going to use it for smoothies later. Then it hit me, how about some frozen yogurt bites for the kiddo... Sure, that would work, however, he LOVES fruit, so why not do frozen yogurt fruit bites instead! These sure have been a nice healthy snack to just pop out of the freezer in a snap to enjoy. Next up, I make a bigger batch and throw some in my morning smoothies that way!



Frozen Yogurt Covered Fruit Bites


Ingredients: 
Container of yogurt, your choice, I used what I had leftover, which was a plain flavored soy yogurt.
Fruit - I used blueberries and a sliced banana (next time I want to try strawberries or cranberries perhaps would be a nice sweet treat)



Directions:
Toss blueberries or other desired fruit in a bowl of yogurt. Stir yogurt and fruit, enough to cover.  

 

Then take two toothpicks and begin to fish out your covered fruit. This is the most tedious part, but it really goes by faster than you think, once you get going.


Place yogurt covered fruit onto a waxed paper lined cookie sheet and place uncovered in the freezer for atleast a half hour. At this point, they might be starting to set up a bit, really depends on your freezer. I actually forgot about mine until the next day and then pulled them out of the freezer and they were pretty solid, lol. However, it was perfect for packaging up!

 

I also made a chocolate yogurt covered banana slices, as I still had plenty of yogurt left after the blueberries. I just added in a few teaspoons of cocoa powder and a little drizzle of chocolate syrup for sweetness and it was perfect to taste.
 

I think these were my favorite of the two fruits, as it has been a nice healthy snack when I go looking for ice cream in the freezer!  :) 

Nacho Cheese Dorito Meatballs

Yummy note: I knew I would like this Secret Recipe Club blog assignment this month, I mean it had "Cheese Curd" in the title!  I love my cheese curds.. well, Cheese Curd In Paradise is hosted by Ashley from Wisconsin, so, yeah go Green Bay Packers!  Shh, don't tell my Chicago Bears loving husband... Ashley mentions the Packers several times throughout her blog, so you can tell she is a true Wisconsinite with her blog name and her love of the Packers! :)  So it was a toss up between Darn Good Roast, Root Bear Pork Chops, Dulce de Leche (as I've always wanted to make that) or this- Nacho Cheese Dorito Meatloaf. Yes, it hit me at the one word, Doritos. Yes, that is a guilty pleasure I enjoy from time to time. I especially enjoy them using them in various dishes; make taco nachos, add them to a salad for some cheesy crispy when I don't have any croutons, layer them on top of pizza - aka a Taco Pizza (which is a household favorite here), and of course, use them for a bed under some chili and it's a meal. Ok, so perhaps I use Doritos a lot in my cooking, lol, but when I saw this recipe for meatloaf from Ashley at Cheese Curd In Paradise it was a new one for me and I HAD to try it. I modified the recipe just a tad and made the meatloaf into meatballs instead as they are more kid-friendly in this house (not to mention a quicker bake on busy nights).  I love having leftover meatballs for using with either spaghetti or in a meatball sub sandwich, too! These Nacho Cheese Doritos Meatballs were a nice combination of meat with a slight cheese flavor in a pool of sweet bbq sauce, yeah, now aren't you ready to try this recipe?! 

Nacho Cheese Dorito Meatballs

Ingredients: 
2 lbs ground beef
1 egg
1/2 white onion, diced
1 cup Nacho Cheese Doritos, crushed
1/3 bottle ketchup
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8-1/4 cup barbecue sauce (depending on how much sauce you like)
* Note:  There is no additional salt in this recipe, as the saltiness of the Nacho Cheese Doritos is enough to flavor the meatballs.





















Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then crush the Doritos to a fine crumb, similar to panko bread crumb texture. I just used a big sandwich bag and crushed them with a rolling pin. In a bowl, add in the ground beef, egg, onion, crushed Doritos, seasonings, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix and then add in the ketchup, basically adding enough ketchup to just moisten the meat mixture and stir until well combined.  Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and assemble the meatballs with your hands to make a nice firm ball.
















Bake for about 20 minutes and remove from oven. Drain off any excess grease or drippings in your pan and then add the barbecue sauce on top of the meatballs.

Bake for about another 15 minutes or so, depending on the size of your meatballs until they are done. I got about 2 dozen meatballs from the recipe, but if you are making this in a loaf form instead of meatballs, it will form 1 large loaf. Prepare the same way, but just adjust your baking time. For a meatloaf, bake in a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes, then top with barbecue sauce and bake for another 25-30 minutes until done.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares for Daniel

Yummy note: This post by far has been one of my tougher posts to pull together on It's Yummy to My Tummy. Over a year or so ago, I started to participate in this recipe blogging group called the Secret Recipe Club. I speak of it often on my bog, as this "club" really has such a great group of people involved. Everyone has a sincere respect for each other and their food blogs, that it has created a sense of community among us all. So when we recently heard the news that a fellow blogger, Daniel Saraga, had recently passed away, we knew it would only be fitting to post a tribute to honor him. I have never personally met Daniel from the Haggis and the Herring, but we all got to know him from his blog posts and comment interactions within our group. Daniel's presence will surely be missed by all. Please take a minute and reflect with his wife, Meredith, as she honors Daniel and his family. 
From a few comments and posts I recall about Daniel, I remember him noting he enjoyed the peanut butter and chocolate flavor combinations, so I thought I'd make this recipe of his, as a tribute...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares

Ingredients: 

For the Cookie Bar: 

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup peanut butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 cup semisweet chocolate chip

For the Glaze:
1/3 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp peanut butter

1-2 tbsp milk

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9x13 pan. I lined the pan with parchment paper and then lightly sprayed it with nonstick spray. In a bowl, mix the sugars together with the butter and peanut butter. Stir in the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and egg. Once dough is formed, spread out evenly in the pan. Bake for bars for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips; the heat will begin to soften the chocolate chips. Let it stand for a few minutes and then spread the melted chocolate over the cookie bar layer. Let it sit until the chocolate is firm. Prepare the peanut butter glaze by mixing powdered sugar, milk, and peanut butter together until it is smooth and thin enough to drizzle over the chocolate layer. Drizzle glaze and then refrigerate again until cool and ready to cut. This is where the parchment paper layer works really well, as you can just remove the bars from the pan easily and cut it on a cutting board.

Frito Chili Pie

Yummy note: Note the chill in the air, and the sweatshirts and jeans are officially out of the closet. Yes, it is chili weather! I used to make a blah, bland chili, aka, meat with tomatoes and beans as my husband would call it. I just couldn't get the seasonings right, until I found the Pioneer Woman's Frito Chili Pie recipe. This recipe rocks, I've made it numerous times since I've first found it. My number one way to eat it is with the Fritos and cheese, but adding corn to this recipe is fantastic, as well as eating this chili on top of noodles or rice. However, you'd like to serve this chili, it is a pretty popular crowd pleaser.

Frito Chili Pie

Recipe from the Pioneer Woman - http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/09/frito-chili-pie/

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef and/or turkey

1 1/2 tsp prepared minced garlic

1 can tomato sauce

1 can roasted (diced) tomatoes with green chilies

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground oregano

1 tbsp ground cumin

2 tbsp chili powder

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (If using chili beans with seasonings, I leave the sauce then.)

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

* optional - 1/4 cup masa (corn flour) or regular corn meal

* optional - 1/2 cup warm water

A bag of Frito corn chips

Grated sharp cheddar cheese

* optional - diced onion

Directions:

On the stove, brown the meat in a pan. Then dump the browned meat into your crockpot and add in the prepared garlic, tomato sauce, tomatoes, salt, oregano, cumin, and chili powder.

Cover and turn on crockpot on high for about an hour. Add the drained and rinsed beans, stir and simmer in crockpot for another hour. This next step is optional, if you want, add in the masa and water mix to thicken up your chili and to add another layer of flavor to the chili. Lastly, mix the masa with water, then add to the chili. Stir to combine and simmer for final 30 minutes or so until it has thickened up a bit. Now, it is time to enjoy the chili and serve on top of Fritos chips and garnish with cheese and onion if you wish. Another add-in we’ve been enjoying with this recipe, is if we don’t add in the masa mix, we will often toss in a can of corn into the chili to add more depth to the dish. Enjoy!  

Funnel Cakes

Yummy note: As summer comes to a close, I realized we haven't been to any of those carnivals or community fairs this summer. I mean, I'm not really into it at all, except for well, going and getting the food there. I love the corn dogs, caramel apples, cheese curds, kettle corn, cotton candy, and you know, the deep fried anything. Oh wait, back to the matter at hand... the Secret Recipe Club time!  This month, like many other months, I didn't know where to start. When I began my search for this month's Secret Recipe Club, I really was all over the place with my assigned blogger, No Reason Needed. Carol's site has a mix of family blogging, along with her variety of recipe posts. There were so many great choices that once I began my search, I was torn. My husband wanted the taco dish, I was eyeing the meatloaf as I am always looking for easy and tasty meatloaf recipes.  But I decided to go with what I thought the kids would like too, well, secretly what I was hungry for.. shh..don't tell.. I'd like some of that--> the powdered sugary deep fried goodness.  A recipe that totally reminded me of all of those great feelings of nostalgia of country fairs and festivals would be it. I saw this recipe for funnel cakes, I thought this would be an awesome treat, something I normally wouldn't go crazy and make. I tried churros one time and failed miserably, so I was a little nervous at first. This time around though, in my trusty Le Creuset, I fired up my little pot of oil, and knocked this one out of the park.

Funnel Cakes 

Ingredients: 

1 egg

2/3 cup milk (I used soy milk here.)

2 tbsp white sugar

1 1/4 cups flour 

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp baking powder 

about 2 cups of oil for frying

optional: water, if needed to thin out the batter

Directions: 

In a deep skillet or pan, heat about 2 cups of oil over medium heat until hot while you begin to make the funnel cake batter. Make sure you test the oil later before pouring the batter in. Measure out dry ingredients (sugar, salt, flour, and baking powder) in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, mix the egg and milk together. Once the egg and milk is beaten together, gradually add in your dry ingredients. The batter will become fairly thick. So if needed, add in some additional water to help make the funnel cake batter smooth. Test the heated oil and see if it is ready and make sure it is not too hot. It is is smoking when you do a test drop, turn down the heat a bit and wait.  

Next, pour the batter in a funnel or a large gallon sized baggie. If using the baggie approach, snip off a small corner of it, and begin to squeeze the batter in the hot oil. Squeeze in a web-like pattern, circular pattern until you have reached a desired shape or amount of batter. Fry for about 2-3 minutes, with a flip over halfway. It really doesn't take very long at all, so once they begin to turn puffier and a golden brown, remove the crispy fried goodness from the pan. 

Sprinkle with powdered sugar for the classic funnel cake preparation. Get creative, and check out the other options below to top your funnel cake!   

Note, for the caramel apple version above, I used another No Reason Needed recipe I liked. Carol's fried apple recipe made an amazing gooey, sweet topping. It tasted like a warm apple pie, really it was pretty delicious...