Recipe: Cheater No Braid Challah

Think you can't make Challah? It's hard, it's messy, and it takes all day, right? Nope. Not if you know my secret.  I make perfect challah every time without the mess. It's better than store bought and is so very, very easy! You don't even need to know how to braid it. I call this Cheater Challah.

Cheater Challah

Ingredients: 

Frozen yeast dinner rolls 

Vegetable oil

1 egg

Toasted sesame seeds

Directions: 

Place 18 frozen dough balls in a lightly greased loaf pan. Cover with waxed paper and let it defrost and rise for  4-6 hours. (This is the hardest part. You do need to remember to set it out ahead of time, but you can do this). After it has risen, lightly coat the dough with egg wash. Sprinkle sesame seeds on the top. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 30 minutes. 

There you have it freshly baked challah that everyone will love! And it's so easy you can make it every single week. Shabbat Shalom!

Something Fun to Try for Valentine's: Red Velvet Macarons

Red Velvet Macarons

My sweetheart loves Red Velvet anything. I would love to make these for him, but I must confess, I have never made macarons. This may be a bit advanced for a beginner like me, but I do love to look at these and dream...

You can find the recipe at delectable deliciousness. Let me know if you give them a go.

Treasury Tuesday: Doilies and Mojitos: My Kinda Summer

Let's make Mojitos and relax by the pool, shall we?


My Mojito Recipe:
12 fresh mint leaves
1 small lime, juiced
2 tablespoons white sugar, or to taste
1 cup ice cubes
1 ounce rum
1/2 cup club soda

Easy and (Sorta) Healthy Frito Chili Pie

When I was a little girl, Frito Pie was one of my favorite items on the school cafeteria menu. I'm pretty sure, it is no longer on any school menus. I bet it was one of the first to go in the push for better nutrition on school menus.

Well, I have come up with a healthier version of this classic dish. The sweet potatoes give the chili a bit of a sweet flavor and thicken the base while adding vitamin A and fiber. I hope it's a favorite at your house, and maybe one day it will make it's way back on the school menu.

1 lb. ground beef

2 cans Rotel, tomatoes and green chilies (You may want to use the mild Rotel if you are serving this to kids)

2 cans Ranch Style beans

1 can tomato sauce

McCormick's chili seasoning packet

1 cup canned sweet potatoes (or fresh steamed)

1/2 onion

Grated cheddar cheese

Fritos

Brown ground beef. Drain fat. Return meat to pot. Add Rotel, Ranch Style Beans, Chili seasoning, tomato sauce. Drain and mash sweet potatoes. Add mashed sweet potatoes to pot. Simmer for 30 minutes. Chop onions. Put a handful of Fritos in the bottom of each bowl. Top with chili. Add more Fritos. Top with Cheese and onions.

The Perfect Frozen Margarita

Growing up in Dallas, I always heard that the Frozen Margarita was first invented in Dallas. It had something to do with a Slurpee Machine (also invented in Dallas by 7-Eleven) and El Fenix Restaurant. I don't know if any of this is true, but I do know my husband's margaritas are the absolute best. Here is his recipe.

The Perfect Frozen Margarita

1 Can Bacardi Frozen Margarita Mix

2/3 Can Tequilla (Use a very good quality Tequilla. Patron Silver is our favorite)

2/3 Can Cointreau liquer

Lime wedges

Add frozen margarita mix, tequilla, and Cointreau to blender. Fill blender to the top with ice. Mix throughly until all ice is chopped to a very fine consistency. Garnish with 1 lime wedge per glass.

Smoothies: A Refreshing After School Treat

Wowwee, it has been a very hot first week of school for us. My kiddos definitely weren't going to go for the old cookies and milk treat after school. All they have been screaming on the way home from school has been either, "Jamba Juice" or "Slurpy" everyday. Well, we aren't having any of that, but we did make homemade smoothies. And these were just the right sweetness and creaminess.

This recipe uses strawberries as the base, but you can substitute most any frozen fruit.

Fruit Smoothies (makes 6 small servings)

2 cups frozen strawberries (or other frozen fruit)

1 small container of flavored yogurt (such as yoplait or dannon)

3/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate

2 cups milk

1 cup ice

Mix all ingredients in blender. Garnish with a fresh strawberry on a straw if you wish.

Yogurt Coated Real Fruit Pops

This recipe is one of those that you won't believe how simple it is, and how incredibly yummy it is too. Essentially what it is is frozen chunks of fruit coated in yogurt. It makes a wonderful summer treat, and it is an easy way to get more calcium and fruit into a picky eater's diet.

Ingredients:

Grapes, washed and removed from stems

Strawberries, washed and stems removed

Vanilla flavored refrigerated yogurt (such as Dannon or Yoplait)

Cut the fruit into bite sizes (remember for children under the age of 4, cut the grapes in half to prevent choking hazards). Freeze the fruit for 30 minutes.

Coat with yogurt, and place on wax paper. Return to freezer for an additional 30 minutes.

You may substitute any other fruit that freezes well.

As much as I love this recipe, I think it's time for a new name. Please feel free to post your suggestions below in the comments section.

Make Your Own Candy Cake

Oh, how my kids LOVE candy! To them, nothing's better than a cake made entirely out of candy. Lots and lots of candy.

A good friend of mine has been paying big bucks for these, and they are always the hit of the party. My kids and I decided to figure out how to make these ourselves. They are so simple and lots of fun!

Here's how you can make one too.

You will need:

1 5 inch Florist Foam Circle

2 Layer Cake Pans (I used 8 inch and 10 inch circle pans)

14 inch Cardboard Cake Circle

Hot Glue Gun

Hot Glue Sticks

E 6000 Adhesive Glue

Several Large Bags of Individually Wrapped Candies

Step 1:

Run a bead of E6000 glue along the upper rim of the largest cake pan. Glue it to the cardboard cake circle. Do this on the smaller cake pan also, and stack them.

Step 2:

Use the E6000 to glue the Floral Foam to the top. This will be your base for your candy. Let this dry for about 30 minutes.

Step 3:

Hot glue pieces of candy to the cake pans and foam.

See, how easy is that!

I have seen these made with a styrofoam base, but we all know how bad that is for the environment, and it sometimes tears when the kids pull the candy off. So I decided to use real cake pans so that we could use the base over and over again. We did use florist foam for the top layer so that we could stick lollipops or candles on the top. You could also use boxes for your base depending upon the shape that you want.

Hope you enjoy making your own candy cake.

Goodbye Sodas, Hello Fizzie Alternative

 Lately, my oldest son is REALLY into sodas. Or as we like to call it in Texas, "Coke." Yes, all sodas are affectionately called "Coke" in Texas. (I have no idea why, just one of those funny Texas things).

Well, here's my healthy alternative: Fizzies!

Fizzies
1 Tablespoon Any Flavor Frozen Fruit Juice Concentrate
Sparkling Water, such as Canada Dry
Place fruit juice concentrate in drinking glass. Fill glass with sparkling water leaving a couple of inches from the top of glass. Stir to mix. Adjust the amount of fruit juice concentrate to taste.
Get ready for the fizz! It really bubbles up. Kids get a big kick out of making this.
All the fizz, no caffeine, and a whole lot less sugar!