Coconut Syrup

Oh my goodness. This stuff is YUM! When we were in Hawaii, they had this coconut syrup and it was soooooo good. I'm pretty sure I had it everyday for breakfast. So I decited to re-create it. I scoured the internet for recipes and kept the empty bottle of the syrup we brought home (for the ingredient list.) And... I couldnt find anything I thought was right, so I combined several recipes, along with my own ideas and all I can say is YUM!

This is not exactly like the syrup there, but it is really good. I plan on serving it for dinner tonight with 'roll-ups' (my Dad's famous giant crepes) I can hardly wait!

Coconut Syrup

1 cup Light Karo syrup
1 can Sweetened condensed milk
1 can coconut milk
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp coconut extract

Heat all together in a saucepan over medium until the ingredients melt together, wisk if the powdered sugar is lumpy. Serve over pancakes, wafflles, or just eat with a spoon like me!

Enjoy!

Pink Grapefruit Cookies

This recipe is straight from Martha Stewart.  It turned out really  good.  Our family all liked them different amounts, but everyone did like them.  (some of us loved them!)  I did add a little food coloring to the frosting and used all all-purpose flour.  Enjoy!

Pink grapefruit sandwich cookies

Makes 15 sandwich cookies

• Grated zest of 1 Ruby Red grapefruit, plus 1/4 cup freshly squeezed juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large egg yolks
• Pink Grapefruit Cream Filling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a small bowl, combine zest with 1 tablespoon sugar; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and remaining sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add egg yolks, and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in reserved zest-sugar mixture. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the juice, and beat to combine.
3. Turn out dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, and shape into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out disk to 1/8 inch thick using a lightly floured rolling pin. Using a lightly floured 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds and place about 1 inch apart on prepared sheet. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes. Transfer parchment paper and cookies to rack to cool completely.
5. Using an offset spatula, spread 1 tablespoon filling onto flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping flat sides down. Once filled, cookies can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Pink grapefruit cream filling

          

Makes enough to fill 15 sandwich cookies

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed Ruby Red grapefruit juice

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in honey. Add juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until filling holds together and is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, cover, and set aside until ready to use.

Alphabet Soup

This was just to use up some leftover turkey I had in the freezer from Christmas, but everyone loved it and gobbled it right up!  I think the alphabet noodles made it much more enticing.

Alphabet soup

• 8 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups diced celery
• 1 cup diced onion
• 3 cups baby carrots, chopped
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 pound chopped, cooked chicken meat (2 cups)
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen petite peas
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. herbs de provence
• 1 1/2 cups little alphabet noodles (or whatever you have)
• In a large stock pot add chicken broth, celery, onion, baby carrots, and garlic. Add 2 cups water. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 2 hours.
  

Add chicken and peas. Season with salt, pepper, herbs.  Simmer for 30 minutes, checking to see if water level has decreased. Add water if needed.

Bring to a boil, add noodles, stirring often. Noodles should be done in 20 minutes. Serve hot.

(I also added some red kidney beans I had on hand)

Pumpkin cran-apple muffins

These are really yummy and very nutritious. Pumpkin is an excellent source of vitamin A. It is also a very good source of vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, and manganese. Cranberries have antibiotic properties,are loaded with anti-oxidants and vitamin C. 

This is a big recipe, I get 24 big, regular sized muffins and 24 mini muffins.

Pumpkin cran-apple muffins

4 1/2 cups flour (I use all whole wheat)

2 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups sugar

2 cps pureed pumpkin

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup applesauce

2 cups chopped apples

2 cups chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

In a bowl, combine the first four ingredients. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar; add the pumpkin,applesauce  and oil and mix well. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the cranberries and apples. Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 375 degrees F for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Hints:  I also add about  1/4 cup each, ground flaxseed meal and wheat germ plus a little extra applesauce.

          You can also leave the cranberries whole for a tangy tart burst, but my kids like them chopped fairly small.

Enjoy!