Raspberry Swirl French Macarons

Fun fact, it's been exactly 5 years since I last posted a recipe for French Macarons. I tried three times and it was such a struggle! My final try was almost perfect, almost. But it was such a struggle to get there, and I wasted too many ingredients I never tried again! Well after seeing a Tasty video for some strawberry swirl macarons, I was inspired to try it again. I didn't have high hopes going into it. I figured it would be a fail in some way, so that's what I was prepared for. I was so surprised that they were far easier than I remember them being and they turned out perfectly!!! I do wonder if the climate has anything to do with it... I was living in Utah 5 years ago, and now live in Texas where it is much more humid. Hard to say. If any of my Utah friends try this recipe, let me know how it goes and if you run into any troubles!

Here is all that you will need;

3 eggs whites, room temperature
¼ cup sugar
1¾ cup powdered sugar
1 cup almond meal/flour
2 drops red food coloring

Filling
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
Dash of salt
Raspberry jam


In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Keep beating and slowly add sugar. Once you have added the sugar, increase the speed to high, and continue beating until stiff peaks form, this will take about 5 minutes. 

Sift powdered sugar and almond meal over the egg whites. I toss my powdered sugar and almond meal into a food processor to help ensure it's really fine and then I don't worry about putting it through a sifter. You could also use a blender if you don't have a food processor. But just using a sifter will be fine! If you notice in the pictures my macarons have little specs on them, that's because I bought my almond meal at Trader Joes, and their meal is not super fine and you can still see the shell of the almonds. Using a sifter may keep these out, but you will likely still have some in there. This won't really affect the baking, but if you don't like how the specs look, just be sure to buy super fine almond meal. 

Fold the dry mixture into the egg whites, keeping track of how many times you stir, try to do only 30-50 stirs. Make sure to not overmix or the macarons will not rise. Once the batter reaches a lava-like consistency, transfer half the batter to another bowl and add the food coloring. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix! This part is tricky to get the right consistency, watching videos really helped me to get an idea of what I needed to be looking for.

Carefully put the white and pink batters into a sandwich bag, putting one on one side, one on the other, trying to keep them from combining too much. Seal the zip lock top and cut the corner off the bag.

Pipe 1½-inch dollops onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I print out this template for my macarons and try to keep the piping within the lines. You could also trace your own circles on the back side of the parchment paper, just be sure the ink if not in contact with the macarons! You want to use parchment paper, not wax paper or tin foil! You could also you a baking mat, but I haven't tried that so I can't speak for how well that will go! I do love my baking mats, I will have to try that next time! 

Let the cookies rest for 30 minutes, or until they are no longer wet to the touch. While resting, preheat oven to 285ºF. Some recipes recommend an hour but I have found 30 minutes to be fine, even in my humid climate. Make sure they are not near the oven as the heat from the oven could make them spread out! I had one pan on the counter just next to my oven and that ruined them! 

Begin to make the filling by mixing the cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk and salt in a bowl until smooth. Transfer to a ziplock bag or piping bag and set aside until ready to fill. You can just use a spoon to add the jam, but I like to also add the jam to a bag to make it a little easier to place in the center of each macaron.

When the cookies are dry to the touch, bake for 15 minutes until they have risen to form a “foot.” Be sure not to undercook them. They should not stick to the parchment paper and should lift off easily. If they are sticking, cook for 2-3 more minutes. 

Make sure to cool completely before filling, about 10 minutes. To fill, pipe a circle of the cream cheese mixture around the edge of one cookie and place a small dollop of jam in the center. Sandwich with another macaron.

If you don't eat them all in one sitting (hahaha who does that?!?!) make sure to keep them in the refrigerator! 

This recipe is adapted from Tasty. They made a great video that inspired this post;

Enjoy!

Homemade Pork Dumplings

I have become rather obsessed with making homemade dumplings. I watched a YouTube video from the Brothers Green all about how to make different types of dumplings and I was amazed at how easy it looked! So I had to give it a try! There was an amazing dumpling place near Dave's work in VA (I have raved about it a number of times, Dumpling Queen!) but nothing we have found so far in Texas even comes close! 

This blog post will be huge! But please don't allow it to intimidate you! Once you get the hang of these, you will find they are so easy and actually far better than ones at restaurants! (Except for Dumpling Queen in VA of course....) These have become part of our weekly meal rotation! I crave them constantly! Your first few tries may be a bit of trial and error, but I promise, once you get the hang of it, you will be just so damn pleased with yourself! 

Now if you don't feel like reading a novel, I made a little video which covers all the steps for how I make my dumplings. I'm not the best videographer, so forgive me! But if you want some more in depth explaining, continue below!

What you will need;

1 lb. ground pork

1/3 head of green cabbage (traditional recipes call for napa cabbage but I have used both and don't notice any difference once it's all cooked up!)

1/3 white onion
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp ginger (I use ground ginger because I'm lazy! I don't honestly feel like it makes a huge difference!)
2 scallions
½ tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce (1 for the veggies, 1 for the pork)
1 tsp sugar
Splash of rice wine vinegar

Dash of salt and pepper

So... I never actually measure anything out. In the video you may see me adding more or less of what I actually state above.... I've made these so many times, it's easy for me to just eyeball it! For all the veggies, I basically just stuff as much as I can into my food processor and once it's full, call it good. And then drizzle on top all the sauces and seasonings. You could cut everything by hand, but I would really recommend using a food processor or even a blender and just gently pulsing it all so it's finely chopped. You don't want it to be mush, but you also don't want large chunks as it won't cook as well. If you have a hand chopper that would work really well too! 

Anyways, once you have all your veggies chopped up, however you choose to go about that, dump it into a large mixing bowl. Add in your ground pork, and an extra splash of soy sauce (1 tbsp) and mix it all together. 

I like to wrap my dumplings on a large cutting board. I have ample room to wrap up the dumplings and them somewhere to place them once they are wrapped. If you don't have a large board you could just use two large plates. You want to moisten both where you will

be doing the wrapping as well as where you will be placing the wrapped dumplings. This will help them avoid sticking to the surface which can then cause them to tear. You also want to have a small little cup of water to dip your fingers in while you wrap the dumplings. You want to make sure the wrappers are nice and moist to prevent any tearing. 

Now, in the video, you will be me actually using square wonton wrappers. My grocery store doesn't carry dumpling wrappers so I just get the wonton wrappers and honestly using either one is fine. I do live pretty close to an Asian food market so sometimes I will go and stock up on proper dumpling wrappers. But, really, they cook up pretty much the same. The dumpling wrappers are quite thick and rarely tear, so they are a bit easier to fold. If you want to pan fry them, they do tend to crisp up a lot more than the wanton wrappers do, but since they are thicker, they take a bit longer to cook. The wonton wrappers are thinner so they can tear much more easily, but they are bigger so you can fit quite a lot more filling into them. They also cook up a bit quicker. I think they are quicker to fold together because I just simply pinch each corner together, as apposed to the round wrappers, I have to fold and pinch. Personally I actually like using the wanton wrappers more just because I can put so much more filling into them so I don't have to make as many, but really either way, it doesn't matter, it won't make any big difference and they will be super yummy either way!

Anyways... Once you have all your dumplings wrapped up, you want to heat a skillet with oil (veggie or olive is fine) over medium-high heat. Once your pan is nice and hot, add the dumplings. Cook until the bottoms are nice and brown, about 7 minutes. Add about 1/4 cup of water, just enough to add a thin layer of water across the bottom of the pan, you don't want the dumplings submerged, and add a lid to allow them to steam until most of the water has cooked off, about 7-10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, make your dumpling sauce. Super easy to whip together and far better than straight soy sauce!

All you will need;

2 tbsp soy sauce (I always buy low sodium)
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
Sriracha to taste
A dash of sugar

A dash of chili powder

And just stir all that together and you are ready to go! 

That's it! Honestly, finding the wrappers, and in some stores, finding ground pork, can be the biggest struggle of the entire process, but once you get a hang of it, and find a way to fold them that is easy for you, these will become a family favorite! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! 

Enjoy! 

Mahi Mahi "Rice" Bowl

Every time I go to Costco I consider buying their big bag of frozen Mahi Mahi. It's a bit pricey, so I always decide against it, but this time I actually grabbed it. Dave had sent me this Paleo Mexican Burrito Bowl recipe that he requested I make. The original recipe called for beef, but I figured I could easily sub in whatever other protein I would like. Obviously, you don't have to use Mahi. Beef, as the original recipe calls for would be great, or chicken too! The base of this recipe is riced cauliflower, something we have wanted to try for a while! To me, it wasn't anything similar to rice, but it was still pretty yummy! I simplified the recipe a bit. I've learned how to make shortcuts in recipes making them a lot quicker and easier, but just as yummy! Hopefully you enjoy! 

Here's what you will need;

For "rice";

Cauliflower (I used 1/2 of a head)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 an onion, diced

1/2 a jalapeno, diced (optional)

2 tablespoons olive oil

For protein; 

Protein of your choice (Mahi, tilapia, shrimp, beef, chicken)

1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground paprika
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tablespoon olive oil

Toppings of your choice;

Avocado

Pico 

Cabbage 

Cilantro

Lime

Cilantro Lime Dressing (optional)

1 packet dry ranch dressing

1 cup milk

1 cup greek yogurt (or mayo)

1 bunch cilantro 

1/2 jalapeno

1 juiced lime

For the cauliflower rice, first you will need to chop and wash your cauliflower. To make "rice" I threw it in my food processor and hit the chop button a few times until it was the texture I wanted. You can also use a blender, just using the pulse button so it doesn't get blended too finely. heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat, adding onions and garlic. Sautee until browned. Add cauliflower "rice" and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook till slightly browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine all seasonings and add to protein. If using fish or chicken like I was, I just patted it into both sides of the fish. Heat a pan with olive oil over medium-high heat, and add protein. Cooking times will vary depending on what you are cooking. For the Mahi, I seared both sides, once seared I lowered the heat to medium, and continued to cook another 5 minutes.  

For the cilantro lime dressing, just throw all the ingredients in the blender and chill until ready to serve! We usually have a jar of this stuff in the fridge. It's similar to the dressing you would get at Cafe Rio, and is so yummy over anything!

Serve protein over "rice" base and top as you would like (see suggested toppings above).

And that's it! Pretty simple! This recipe is so versatile, you could add so many things, totally change the flavors, and it would still be really yummy! I think next time I will add some chipotle seasoning and add black beans and maybe grilled corn! You will have to let me know of any yummy adjustments you make!

Adapted from Whitty Paleo

Enjoy!

Pillows of Heaven {Easy, Fluffy Rolls}

With Thanksgiving just this week, I figured I would share my favorite roll recipe. I am not good at making rolls or really breads of any kind. Even if I follow the recipe as close as I can, I usually seem to botch it up. But luckily, this is one recipe that I can successfully make time and time again! These rolls are really just little pillows of heaven. So tasty and so easy. And require no kneading! They do take some time to rise, so plan ahead!

What you need:

1 cup water
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup cold water
4 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup warm water
4 eggs, beaten
7 1/2 cups flour

In a 6 quart pan bring the 1 cup water to a boil.
Add butter, sugar and salt. Remove from heat.
Add the 1 cup cold water.
Dissolve yeast in the 1/2 cup warm water (not hot).
When first mixture is luke-warm add yeast mixture and beaten eggs. Stir briefly.
Add flour and stir together.
Cover with lid and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, divide dough into fourths.
Roll out each section of dough into a circle on a floured surface. 
Cut into wedges (like how you would cut a pizza) and roll up, beginning with the wide end, to form a crescent shape. Place each on a greased baking sheet, about 12 per sheet. 
Let rise for at least 4 hours, or freeze to rise and bake at another time.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until just slightly golden brown.
Makes 3-4 dozen rolls.

Uncooked rolls, waiting to be baked! 

The uncooked crescents can be frozen. Store in freezer bags until ready to use. To use, return them to greased cookie sheets and rise at least 6 hours. Bake as normal.

Rolls in the freezer, wait till solid before transferring to zip lock bags.

Before baking them I brush butter on each one. My aunt brushes them before, and after baking, but that's up to you! And I have found it's best to use salted butter, the only time of year I buy the stuff! 

And my sole baking sheet was being used for something else, 

so I used my cast iron pan, and they baked up beautifully! Best pan ever!  

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving! 

Sweet Potato Burritos

I've had sweet potato tacos on my meal plans for probably a near month now but kept putting off making them because I was scared I wouldn't like them. I had a few different recipes I considered making, but I was worried they wouldn't be flavorful enough. 

But I finally decided to make them, and they were pretty good, they weren't super flavorful, and being tacos, they were rather difficult to eat. But the next day I rolled up burritos with the leftovers, which were much easier to eat, and found that they were much more flavorful. I guess the flavors had more time to marinate? But honestly, I ate them for lunch and dinner every day for like 3 days. I was obsessed and am still craving them! These were really quite easy, and I certainly will be including them in my usual meal plan. 

So after some tweaking here is what I would recommend you mix it up either the night or at least the morning before so the flavors have time to marinate, reheat and serve. 

Here's what you will need;

1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne 
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 medium onion, chopped 
2 bell peppers, chopped
3-4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
4 tablespoons olive oil
Tortillas

And extra fillings, all optional;

Pico De Gallo
Diced Avocado
Hot Sauce
Cheese* 
Sour Cream*

Directions;

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Peel and dice sweet potatoes. Toss diced potatoes in 2 tablespoons olive oil and all the seasonings, coating evenly, and bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. 
While potatoes are baking, heat a large skillet with remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, peppers, and garlic, and caramelize, about 5 minutes.  
Once the potatoes are done, add them to the pan with the veggies, as well as adding the corn and black beans, tossing it all together.

To serve, as I said above, lots of recipes I saw served these as tacos, but I found it far easier to eat as a burrito. So I took a large tortilla, spread some sour cream on, sprinkled shredded cheese, add about 3 spoonfuls of potato mixture, as well as pico, avocado, and hot sauce, and wrap tightly. {Optional} I then popped it in my mini George Forman grill to get those beautiful grill marks and heat it up. (PS; BEST PURCHASE EVER, more on that in another post!)

*This meal can easily be made vegan! Just leave out these items! 

Enjoy!

Adapted from Cooking Classy

{Vegan} Spicy Thai Curry Stew

I combined a few different recipes to end up with this. It was super easy to throw together, and can be made in a crockpot, or just on the stove. I It's a great way to pack in lots of veggies, and enjoy lots of flavor! It's vegan too! This recipe did have quite the kick to it, which my husband loved. But you could leave out the serrano peppers, and it would still be very yummy.

What you will need;

1 large onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3-4 large potatoes, cut into large pieces
3-4 carrots, peeled and cut
1 can diced tomatoes
2 serrano peppers, seeded and diced*
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons red curry paste, or curry powder
32 oz low sodium vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Limes and chopped cilantro to garnish (optional)

If making on stove top;

Sautee onions and garlic in a bit of water (to prevent sticking) over medium-high heat, 3-5 minutes. Add potatoes, carrots, ginger, chili powder, and curry (paste or powder). Stir together, coating the veggies with the curry as much as possible. Add tomatoes, serrano peppers, broth and coconut milk. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. Serve garnished with lime juice and chopped cilantro.

If making in crock pot;

Add onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, ginger, chili powder, and curry (paste or powder) with 1-2 tablespoons of water. Stir together, coating the veggies with the curry as much as possible. Add tomatoes, serrano peppers, broth and coconut milk. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or high for 4, or until potatoes are soft. Serve garnished with lime juice and chopped cilantro.

*For me, the serrano peppers were very hot! Maybe that's because they had been sitting in my fridge all week, I'm not sure. I would advise to only use one, or skip them entirely if you don't like the heat.

Adapted from Forks Over Knives and PlantBasedCooking.com 

Chipotle Chicken Soup

Now thThis recipe is one of our all time favorite soups. This recipe does have a good kick to it thanks to the Chipotles, but if you can handle the heat, it is so easy to throw together and is packed with flavor! 

Here's what you will need;

1 onion, chopped

4-6 cloves garlic, minced 

2 tablespoons olive oil

6-8 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, chopped

4 Chipotle chilies and 4 tablespoons adobo sauce*

6 cups chicken broth 
1 can corn, drained 
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups heavy cream

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 bunch chopped cilantro

1 avocado

Sour cream

Crushed Tortilla chips

*the Chipotle chilies are really quite spicy, so you can half this to lower the heat

In a large pot or dutch oven add onion, garlic, olive oil, and saute. Push onion and garlic to the side of the pan and add chicken and cook. Once golden, add chipotle chilies, adobo sauce, corn, black beans, chicken broth, and heavy cream. Turn heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Add lime juice. You can add the chopped cilantro at this point, or wait to add it to each serving along with sour cream, avocado and tortilla chips.

And that's it! Enjoy!

Adapted from Rachael Ray

Happy Fall!

Jackfruit BBQ Sandwiches

If you are new to the blog, you may not know we are exploring vegan and vegetarian eating. We haven't been perfect, but we can definitely tell we feel so much better with eating more plant-based! It is a hard adjustment, almost entirely rethinking how we view a standard meal, but it's been really fun to explore new ways of eating and find and create new recipes that we love!

One of our favorites so far is pulled jackfruit sandwiches. Honestly, you would think you are eating pulled pork! It has a very similar texture. And it's very quick to cook and WAY cheaper than buying meat! 

We bought canned jackfruit. Some grocery stores will carry it in their Asian section. But you want to make sure it's jackfruit in water or in brine, NOT IN SYRUP! Our favorite grocery store had it in syrup, which I failed to pay attention to, and we bought two cans. I suppose I could have given the recipe a shot with it, but out of all the reading I did online, everyone said it would be far too sweet. So we returned it, and luckily we were able to find it in brine at a little Asian store that was hidden really close to our house! I think it was only $1.60 a can, so very cheap! (1 can makes about 4 sandwiches)

Here is what you need;

Serves 4

4 Hamburger Buns

1 can of jackfruit in water or brine

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup BBQ sauce of your choice (make sure it's vegetarian)

Rinse and drain jackfruit.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook garlic and onion until browned. Once browned add jackfruit and BBQ sauce of your choice and stir to coat jackfruit in sauce.

Now, I think finding an amazing BBQ sauce is key here. We are lucky enough to live in Texas and we bought our BBQ sauce from a popular local restaurant, Rudy's. Their sauce is incredible! Definitely hunt around for the perfect sauce! Or make your own!

Simmer on low for 15 minutes, covered. Shred the jackfruit to appear like pulled pork. Cover and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

Toast buns (I used LOTS of butter here…..)

Remove lid and continue to cook on high for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will help it develop a more pork like texture.

Serve over slaw (my recipe for homemade slaw coming soon!) on toasted buns.

Enjoy! I hope you love them as much as we do!

Now obviously this is not a vegan recipe, but it could easily be adjusted to be so. Make sure the BBQ sauce you are using is vegan, leave off the butter when toasting the buns, and make your own homemade slaw with vegan mayo.

Either way, I hope you try this recipe, even if you aren't that interested in eating vegetarian. I think it will surprise you how yummy and easy it is! Let me know what you think!

Vegan Black Bean Tacos

We watched Forks Over Knives a few weeks ago and have begun exploring a vegan diet. After a few weeks of trying to implement it here and there, I feel that I could fairly easily go vegetarian, but vegan would be hard. I love eggs and cheese! I can work around meat, but I want cheese on just about everything! But, my cheese obsession aside, it's been fun to explore different ways of eating, and I do find myself feeling a lot better. 

I have started to collect some really yummy and really easy recipes that I am excited to share with you. Since this is the first one we made, I decided this would be the first one we would share! Despite the fact that it sounds pretty boring and bland, it's incredibly flavorful! I was really surprised by this dish and find myself craving it a lot! 

Here's what you will need;

1 large head Romaine Lettuce
1 onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced (a garlic press is a must have!)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper seasoning*
1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 can black beans rinsed
2 cups cooked brown rice
Salt and pepper to taste
Avocado
Pico De Gallo
Lime*
Cilantro*

First, cook your rice, and your beans if you are not using canned. I'm lazy, so I used canned beans, I just make sure to rinse them thoroughly.
Sautee your onion, peppers, garlic and seasonings over medium-high heat. If you find them sticking to the pan, just add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water.  Add black beans and 1 cup of water. Cook for 10 minutes, adding more water if it seems too dry, but careful not to add too much!
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in lettuce with rice, topped with avocado, pico, lime, and cilantro.

*optional

Adapted from the Forks Over Knives Cookbook 

Hopefully you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! It is so quick and easy to whip together, and despite how simple it is incredibly flavorful! It keeps really well too and makes for a great quick lunch!

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Coconut Macaroons

I finally managed to find some organic coconut flour from Trader Joe's (and for crazy cheap) and found a few recipes on the back of the bag. One was for some coconut macaroons, something I had been craving! 

These were really easy to make and a huge hit at our house. They were devoured! They are a bit more on the cakey side than the macaroons I used to make, but they are still really yummy and I almost think I prefer them! Really easy to whip together! They do have a lot of sugar and butter, so I might try to find a healthier substitute, but here it is for now!

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 cups shredded sweetened coconut* 
(optional) 3 oz (6 squares) dark chocolate** 
(optional) 1 teaspoon coconut oil

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Mix together butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Stir in salt, flour and coconut until combined.
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out macarons onto a greased pan. 
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
- (optional) Microwave dark chocolate and coconut oil in 25 second increments until melted, stirring after each time. Drizzle over macaroons. 

You can certainly enjoy these without the chocolate, but the chocolate is a must for me! Especially when it's dark chocolate! I add the coconut oil to thin out the chocolate to make it easy to drizzle. You could also use butter or shortening if you don't have coconut oil on hand.  
Makes about 2 dozen
Adapted from Trader Joe's

*Shredded coconut is a great item for gluten free diets, but cross contamination can be possible in manufacturing, Just be sure to check the label if you are particularly sensitive.
**Some chocolate is not gluten free, again, just check the label. The dark chocolate I bought was organic, gluten free from Trader Joe's 

Enjoy!