White Chocolate Coconut Bars

After I made those delicious coconut cupcakes for mother's day, I had a lot of left over shredded coconut. I've been looking for a while now for a simple cookie bar. I tried the lunch lady bars that everyone was talking about several months ago. They were good, but just not what I wanted. So I was searching around the other day and found these chocolate chip bar cookies. The recipe was so simple that I decided to try it and sub out ingredients for what I already had--enter white chocolate and coconut--they are pefect. They are really more shortbread-like in their consistency. They are rich, because of all the butter, but you only need one little square to get the perfect taste of sweet. I also added a teaspoon of salt. I personally like a touch of salt in cookies and the original recipe didn't call for any. It was the perfect amount of salt.

My Revised Recipe:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

2 handfuls of shredded coconut

Cream butter and sugar, add vanilla, add egg, add flour. Stir in chips and coconut. Spread into a sprayed 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 for 25 min.

Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Frosting

I like baking, but I don't do it too often. I'm a much better cook than baker. I think it's probably just because I cook all the time, but only bake once and a while. I was looking for something summery to take to the IL's house for Mother's Day and I found these cupcakes--where else--but in my Cooking Light. I love things with lemon and lime in them, so I thought they would be perfect. They were super easy and came out really nice. Really spongy and soft. And the frosting is to.die.for.




I will sprinkle them with lime zest or green sprinkles before serving to people. I'll try to snag a better picture on Sunday.






Cupcakes:
1 cup flour
3 tbsp potato starch (I could not find this at the store, and I had corn start, so I used that. I was worried, but it worked just fine)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 egg
1 egg white
2/3 cup milk
2 tbsp flaked coconut, sweetened
1/2 tsp vanilla

Frosting:
3 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp half n half
1/2 tsp lime zest
1 tbsp lime juice (I put in about an extra half tbsp)
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Mix dry ingredients with a whisk, then beat butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, add dry mix and milk alternately. Fold in coconut and vanilla. Bake at 350 for 18 min. (Mine needed about 3 extra min for some reason).

Frosting: Beat butter, half n half, lime zest, & juice. Slowly add powdered sugar until frosting is a good consistency.

Goat Cheese & Corn Quesadillas

I spent the last few evenings going through three months of Cooking Light magazines that I haven't had time for because of school. I've now got a list of about 10--probably more--recipes on my to-do list. So tonight I started with goat cheese and corn quesadillas. They were really good and super easy. I served them with a tex-mex salad on the side.













Quesadillas:
4 tortillas (recipe called for corn, but I used flour)
1 cup whole kernel corn
1/2 cup goat cheese
1/2 cup tomatillo salsa (I had an open jar of black bean/corn salsa so I used that)

Saute corn in a small amount of EVOO. Mix heated corn with cheese. Lightly butter the tortillas, place butter side down in a warm skillet, top with corn mix and a spoon full of salsa, top with other tortilla. Cook two min on each side and slice with a pizza cutter.

Salad: (not from the magazine)
Spring mix
Roma tomato, chopped
Corn
Black beans
Bell pepper, chopped
Avocado, sliced
Cilantro
Salsa, on the side

Compost Pail/Hole Update

As promised, I'm updating now that I've recieved my bamboo compost pail. It got here super fast and I love it. It sits on the counter next to my sink and it looks nice, it's convenient for dropping things in, and it doesn't smell at all, even if I leave things in it for a couple days. If you compost, it's worth the money for sure.

Cinco De Mayo

It's no secret by now that we love Mexican food and I love trying new recipes, so last night we opted to stay in and avoid the crowds. I have also been dying to re-create a dish I had at the Border Cafe in Boston; Black Bean & Corn Empanadas.















I made them with pre-made cressent roll dough this time for ease, so that I could see how the filling turned out. We had Spanish rice and margaritas with them. They were really fantastic, so I think I'll try them again with puff pastry, then maybe venture to making the dough by hand. I had enough filling left to make a whole additional batch, so I froze it.

Recipe:
1 can black beans
1 bell pepper, I used orange
Cilantro, chopped
Shredded cheese
Red pepper flake
Cumin
Cressent roll dough, 1 can

Saute the beans and pepper for a few min. Then mix with cilantro, cheese, and seasoning. Fill dough and pinch together. Bake at 375 for about 15 min. I made four empanadas, and had enough filling left to make four more. I froze it.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
1 roasted red pepper, from a jar is fine
EVOO
Balsamic Vinegar
Lemon Juice
Red Pepper Flake, I used a lot to make it spicy

Mix together in a food processor until you like the consistency. For more than two people, double or even triple this.

Just Ordered A Copost Pail

As you know, I started a compost hole last spring. It was super easy, I dug the hole, put some fencing in to stop burrowing creatures from finding their way to a meal.

The only thing that has been frustrating is not having anywhere to keep my goodies until it's time to go to the compost hole. I finally broke down and bought this:
It's a compost pail, I got it from http://www.baregreen.com/ for $34.99. I saw it in a magazine for a higher price. Bare Green had the best price with the same shipping as everywhere else and it looks like I should have it by Friday, I ordered it Monday, so not too shabby. It's made from bamboo and recycled plastic, so it's pretty eco-friendly. You put your veggies scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, etc... inside and then the plastic pail pulls out for easy transport to your compost hole. The lid has a carbon filter to eliminate order (aka kitty temptations) so that you don't have to dump every day.

For Jene...

My good friend, Jene, has been bugging me to post some delish food for her to look at for months. I know I completely suck and haven't posted in forever. I got a new job and between that and a rough semester, I've just been too busy lately.

This was something I just decided one day that I would try out. Ryan freaking loved it, talks about it all the time. Tells people about it the day after I make it. Comes in and dips bread (and his fingers) in the food processor to taste it. There is no source for this recipe, I kind of just found out what was in most pestos and tried some things until it was perfect.

So, without further adieu, I give you Pasta with Pesto Sauce:

Basil, about 1 1/2 cups fresh
Toasted pine nuts, 1/4 cup
Garlic, 4-5 cloves
Salt & Pepper
Process
Add 1/2 cup parm cheese
Process
Add extra virgin olive oil while processing until it reaches a consistency that you like.


Sometimes, if I'm feeling spicy, I'll add some red pepper flake. Pour over a pasta with lots of cracks and folds for the pesto to hide in. I usually serve it with bruschetta.