Simple Yet Gourmet

We had these for dinner last night and let me just say, Yum!  This is my favorite BBQ sauce ever!  So much better than any store-bought brand I've gotten in the past.  The flavor was sweet and tangy with a little bit of a kick.  If you don't like spice just leave out the cayenne and you'll be set.  Serve on homemade hamburger buns , rolls, or whatever you like.  Just be sure to have some napkins handy!

Don't you just love the color of this frosting?  So beautiful! It reminds me of Spring. Anyway, when I decided to make these cupcakes,  I was going to just make the Luscious Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream and then I remembered I had leftover raspberry syrup in the fridge and decided to throw that in too.  Worked like a charm and we got this color to boot!  I am typically not a fan of buttercream but I actually did like the taste of this one, and you really can't beat buttercream for piping frosting.  It holds it shape and stays soft for days!

     With so much going on during the week, I am always looking for quick meals.  My family loved teriyaki chicken, but we always grill it.  But with 10 inches of snow on the ground right now, grilling isn't the best option. Plus I love to use my crock pot whenever possible.  I start dinner in the morning and it is ready to go with minimal work by dinner time.   This recipe was super easy and had a wonderful flavor.  I served this dish with fresh steamed veggies and rice, and dinner was complete.      One of secret weapons is my rice cooker. If you don't have one, I would suggest getting one.  I add the water, butter, salt and rice, hit the button and I have rice in about 40 minutes with out touching a thing.  You can make a quick stir fry or crock pot chicken and just add rice and dinner in complete in less than one hour!  Plus with any left over rice we add some milk, cinnamon and sugar and eat that for dessert! ...

This recipe is for my brother Aaron!  A couple of years ago he and his family came for Thanksgiving, and brought us some Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls from a local bakery.  After we devoured them he told me my next mission was do try and recreate them.  You would think that would be an easy task, right?  The answer is no!  I have looked for recipes that I thought might would, but they always fell short.  But this recipe, wow is all I can say.  Think using fresh raspberries and a small amount cornstarch to thicken the filling did the trick. I used fresh raspberries and put them in the freeze for about an hour to make them solid.  You ask, "Why freeze them?"  With them frozen, they hold their shape better and don't turn into soup in the roll.  The filling was tart and not so over the top sweet, which was a nice compliment to the sweet frosting on top.  If you don't like a cream cheese frosting, them make a quick glaze instead. Aaron, ...

Ok, so I know it's not summer yet, but it doesn't mean you can't barbecue!  So, I am NOT a barbecue sauce fan at all!!  With Mike coming from Texas and me from Connecticut, we do clash on our foods likes sometimes. Mike loves barbecue and I only eat it if that's all there is to eat.  But, since making this recipe, I will eat this one. The chicken is super moist from the brine, the chicken is cooked in the over with the sauce, making the sauce smooth and sweet, rather than sticky and crunchy from the grill.   The chicken is cooked on the grill first, to get the nice grill marks, but then transferred to the oven for cooking and basting.  Mike is thrilled that I have found at least one recipe that I will eat when he has a craving for good old barbecue sauce.  I have to cook him at least one thing he loves besides meatloaf! So the moral of this story, if you don't like something, just try it a different way.  Hope you enjoy these as much as did!

I love to make things that not only taste good, but are pretty to look at.  I made these for a New Years's Eve party and they were a hit.  The tart key lime filling paired with the sweet whipped cream was delightful.  I bought the little phyllo cups in the frozen food section and just made the filling.  I think the next time I will make cream cheese pie crust cups and use that as a nice twist to this recipe.  I like a flaky pie crust rather than the crunchy phyllo dough cups.  Either way you decide to make these, they will be the hit of the party!