Halloween Treats

Being on a budget can make things difficult for my creativity but then I realize, it is only a challenge and I can make it happen!  So for our pumpkin carving party I decided to make sugar cookies, since we also have ample amounts of candy for all to pick at.  I really like the sugar cookies that come in the gift baskets but I think sometimes they can be a bit dry.  I tried this new recipe and I love it and so did JL who claims to "not be into sweets".  He can deny it all he wants but when I make a really good dessert he just can't seem to help himself :)

Sugar Cookies (like the gift basket ones)
Sadly I don't know where I got this from but thank you!


1/2 C + 6 T butter, I used salted
3 C + 3 T all purpose flour
1 C superfine sugar, you can toss some regular sugar into a food processor to make it superfine
1 large egg
1 t vanilla

• Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla, just until it is creamy, don't over mix!
• Beat in egg until well combined.
• Add flour until a non-sticky dough forms.
• Knead and separate into two portions.  
• Roll out in between two pieces of parchment or wax paper and let cool in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes, until firm.
• Remove from fridge and cut into desired shapes.
• Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes on a parchment lined cookies sheet.
• Slide paper off of sheet and let coo before removing them.

Frosting
Adapted from All Recipes, Submitted by JB BOX

1 C powdered sugar
2 t milk
2 t light corn syrup
1/4 t vanilla extract
food coloring

• Combine all but food coloring and separate into desired portions for coloring.
• Wait until cookies have cooled before frosting.

Live, Laugh, Love & Enjoy!

Chipotle Chicken

When trying to get creative with the ever-so-boring chicken, utilizing new or unknown ingredients can be the only way to go.  Chipotle Chilies are smoked Jalapenos and delicious in almost anything, even mixed with sour cream for a creamy salad dressing.  As spicy as jalapenos can be, the smoking of them can reduce the bite a little bit.  The Adobo sauce they are combined with, typically, in the can is deliciously sweet and can balance out the spicy-ness, leaving the smoky jalapeno delectably savory and edible for this gringa (white girl)!  If you like heat but never tried chipotle chilis, taste it and add as many as you want to the marinade.  I didn't blend the ingredients but thinking back, that might have been a great idea!

Yummy Chipotle Chicken that you can use for tacos, burritos or salad.

Chipotle Chicken
Adapted from Simply Recipies

2 chicken breasts sliced in half or pounded
2 chipotle chilis, diced
Sauce from chipotle chilis
2 T lime juice
1 T canola oil
Sprinkle of salt

Marinate chicken in chilis, juice, oil & salt for 30 minutes to 1 day.

Grill chicken until done.

As you can see below, I make American tacos, versus the typical Mexican taco with onion, cilantro and salsa.

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It is just beginning!

The past few months I have been making cakes for friends, and their family or friends.  There was one period where I was making cakes every Saturday. 

Jose and I have been discussing this and the opportunity that has become available to me/us...  and Nessa's Cakes was born.  I don't take any credit for the name, that was all Jose! 

It is still incredibly preliminary and very under the radar so I have created a blog to give my potential clients a place to see my handy work and have a list of options available to them, from me :)  The pricing of the cakes is based on the actual cost of the ingredients for me.  This isn't a for-profit undertaking, in any way...

Long story short, here it is... http://nessascakes.blogspot.com/

Live, Laugh, Love & Enjoy!

The best easy cake recipe ever!

I am going to share a secret with you... Some of the cakes I make are not entirely from scratch... I know, I know, it is preposterous and a shame but to be honest, most bakeries no longer make things from scratch at all. Not to mention, I have tried so many recipes from scratch but the best ones I have made require a box mix to use as a base.

This past weekend I had to make 40 cupcakes and a two layer 10" cake. It was a lot of work but the crazy thing was, I was able to finish it all in three hours, from start to finish! Even though I was using a box cake mix, the additional ingredients is enough to almost consider it a recipe from scratch.



The request was for chocolate and not too chocolaty (crazy, I know) cake/cupcake. So I decided to use this recipe from Our Best Bites.

Previously, I made the recipe for a friend and everyone loved it, including me :) I decided, why not try it with chocolate cake mix, instead of vanilla, for a not-too-chocolaty chocolate cupcake/cake. I decided to go with a vanilla butter cream frosting and for the cake I added a strawberry filling.

Needless to say, the cupcakes were a hit and I honestly think they were better than anything else I have made to date. They were super moist, surprisingly since cupcakes are hard to get moist, and they all had a dome top! I thought adding the extra flour and sugar would take away some of the chocolate but they were still pretty chocolaty.

The conversion for a chocolate cupcake is to use Devils Food box cake mix and instead of eggs whites you can substitute 3 large eggs. I don't like to waste eggs and since the only reason the recipe calls for whites is to keep the cake white, I didn't see the necessity.

To get a dome top on the cupcake, preheat oven to 400 degrees and right after you put the cupcakes in the oven and the oven comes back to temp, reduce the temp to 350. This may be a little annoying but it is soo worth it!

Live, Laugh, Love & Enjoy

Planning Ahead

This is not a food post but something very related to food and a normal person's active lifestyle.

I was inspired by Tina to share this with you...

About two weeks ago Jose and I decided, enough is enough. We are no longer going to be eating out during the week and will leave it to once a week, maybe. I then created a system to help the deciding of meals an easier task. This system I will share with you, you lucky person you!

First I created a weekly meal plan.

Monday: Fun meals (to make Monday seem less boring)
Tuesday: Home-cookin’
Wednesday: Mexican
Thursday: Italian
Friday: Home-cookin’
Saturday: Slowcooker/BBQ
Sunday: TBD (usually visit the "in-laws")

Then I started to brainstorm. I created a separate list for each type of meal and vowed to come up with at least eight meals for each. This meant that I would have at least 40 meals to make and as you may assume, I exceeded that.

Once that was done the rest of it was so easy and, may I say, enjoyable! All I had to do was decide which meal for each day and create a list.

Below are some ideas you can use for the meal types.

Fun food:
Chinese Appetizers
Tuna Melts
Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs
Buffalo Wings

Home-cookin'
Chicken Pot Pie
Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots
Cream of Broccoli Soup
BLTT Sandwiches (add turkey)

Italian
Chicken Alfredo
Stuffed Shells
Cajun Fetuchinni (maybe not really Italian but to JL it falls under this category)

Mexican
Chipotle Grilled Chicken Tacos (recipe to come soon)
Enchiladas
Not-Chipotle Burritos
Chili Relleno Casserole

Slow Cooker/BBQ
Burgers
Pot Roast
BBQ Salmon & grilled veggies
BBQ Ribs

Hope this helps you get back into the healthy and more cost efficient way of eating and always enjoy what you put in your mouth!

Live, Laugh, Love!

Thanksgiving came early!

Well, not really. It sure smelled like thanksgiving when I was making dinner though! Dinner was roasted chicken with vegetables.



Roast Chicken with veggies

1 whole chicken, minus the neck and insides and rinsed
4 red potatoes, cut in 8 pieces
1 cup carrots
1 onion, roughly cut
8 oz mushrooms, rinsed
2 celery stalks, roughly cut
1/4 c butter, softened
1 t dried thyme
1 t rosemary
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil
Cooking Spray

1. Preheat oven to 385 degrees.

2. Spray 9x13 roasting pan with cooking spray.

3. Combine butter and spices.

4. Place chicken in pan and run fingers under skin covering the chicken breast and legs.

5. With your hand, spread the butter under the skin and smooth out.

6. Place vegetables along the edges of the chicken.

7. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

8. Bake in the oven for 60 to 90 minutes, until the internal temperature has reached 160 degrees.

9. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes to allow for the juices to redistribute.

Live, Laugh, Love & Enjoy!