Horchata!

In my Spanish class, we got to finally cook something; a Mexican drink. It tastes just like the milk leftover after you eat a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch!

 All credits for pictures go to Google Images.

 

I cup long-grain rice

3 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

ice to taste

 

*Place the rice in a bowl with enough hot water to cover. Let the rice sit overnight. The next day, remove the water. Place cup of rice, water, and 3 1/2 cups milk and water in a blender. Blend until rice is all ground up. Mix in 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Blend and strain through a strainer. Serve over ice.

Great Cooking Book!

I was so lucky to have stumbled upon this great cookbook at my local library. Here it is! (Courtsey of google images)

The book is called Grilled Cheese, Please! written by Laura Werlin. The book has lots of great recipes, which you can find in the lunch tab on the right. This book gives plain old grilled cheese a whole new makeover.

Gigi’s Cupcakes!

For those of you who have no idea what or where Gigi’s Cupcakes is, here is my story:

*The place surrounded by pink caught my eye everytime I drove by it. I had just gotten my hair cut,- and my salon is right next to the new bakery which had been open not even a month and a half- and decided to buy one. The place had become pretty popular, being the only one in Ohio. I walked in and immediately loved the place. The counter displayed dozens of freshly made cupcakes, small tables and chairs were set up in corners, leaving plenty of space to walk though. The friendly-looking cashier greeted me with a bright smile. I order 2 cupcakes-Summer Fun and Red Velvet. I stared at the frosting, it was so high! Everything I’ve always wanted in a cupcake!

I paid for the cupcakes and drove home. The bright pink box was certainly an eye-catcher. When I got home, I turned on the dog show and concentrated on eating and finishing the Red Velvet. About 10 minutes later, a little bit of frosting was left and i was holding me stomach in pain. So good-but so filling! I struggled to eat the last bit, but managed and lived to tell.

Baked Basil Fries courtsey of Taste of Home

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 T. olive oil

1 T. dried basil

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

4 medium red potatoes

*In a bowl, combine Parmesan cheese, oil, basil and garlic powder. Cut potatoes in 1/4 inch sticks. Add to cheese mixture; toss to coat. Place in a 15x10x1 inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes; turn potatoes. Bake 15-20 longer or until crisp and tender.

Cheddar chive drop biscuits courtsey of Pillsbury.com

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup shortening

1  1/4 cups plain yogurt

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

 

*Heat oven to 450 degrees. Grease large cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. With a pastry blender or fork, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in yogurt, cheese and chives just until moistened. Drop dough by generous tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve warm.

 

Cinnabon’s Cinnamon Roll Icing

All credits go to CopyKat recipes!

 

1 lb. margarine

2 pkg. cream cheese

2 lbs. powdered sugar (8 cups unsifted)

2 tsp. lemon juice or lemon extract

2 tsp. vanilla extract

 

*Allow the margarine and cream cheese to reach room temperature, then beat them together in a bowl with a mixer. Slowly add in all the powdered sugar. Once all of the sugar is in the bowl, mix for at least an additional 12 minutes. When the icing is almost done, add in the lemon juice or extract and the vanilla.

Luby’s Stuffed Jalapenos

1 pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 T. dried chives

1 T. minced pimento peppers (from a jar)

1 can whole pickled jalapeno peppers, spiced in half and seeds removed.

 

*Whip the softened cream cheese with an electric mixer, then add the mayonnaise, chives, and pimentos. Blend the filling until smooth and fluffy. Fill the jalapenos with the cream cheese mixture and enjoy! Cover and store the jalapenos in the fridge until ready to serve.

Red Robin’s Freckled Lemonade

2 T. frozen strawberries with syrup, thawed

1  1/2 cups cold lemonade

Ice

 

*In a tall highball glass, pour in the lemonade and add ice to raise the level of lemonade to about 1  1/2 inches from the top of the glass. Carefully spoon the thawed strawberries on top of the lemonade and gently stir.

Jack in the Box’s Rice Krispies Shake

1 T. marshmallow fluff

1 cup vanilla ice cream

2 T. milk

2 T. Rice Krispies

 

*In a small bowl or glass, combine the marshmallow fluff and the milk-if u don’t combine them first, it’s really hard to mix the fluff in properly into the ice cream. Scoop the ice cream into a large glass and add the milk mixture. Stir until it reaches the consistency you desire. You can use a blender to do this if you like. Use a spoon to stir in the Rice Krispies just before serving.

Taste of Texas’s Cinnamon Coffee

10 cups water

4 whole cinnamon sticks

3 heaping tsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

 

*For drip coffee maker only:

Pour water into machine. Put cinnamon sticks and brown sugar into glass pot. Put one cup ground coffee and 1 tsp. cinnamon into brew basket. Brew and stir it well. The longer it sits the better it gets!