Tortellini Bacon Broccoli Salad

Trent isn't a big fan of pasta salad, but I managed to find one that he really liked. I made it a few days ago and have been snacking on it every day. It's just as good or better days after it was made!

Tortellini Bacon Broccoli Salad

recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
2 (9 ounce) packages refrigerated three-cheese tortellini
1 pound bacon
4 cups chopped broccoli
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 cup bottled coleslaw dressing

Directions
1.Cook the tortellini according to the package directions, drain, rinse with cold water, and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.
2.Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Chop the bacon into 1/2-inch pieces while still a little warm.
3.Place the tortellini, bacon, broccoli, grape tomatoes, and green onions into a salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the ingredients, and toss lightly to coat. Chill in refrigerator before serving.

Peacock wedding cake

This last weekend was spent making yet another wedding cake. I put in some serious hours on this baby! But it was actually really fun and it's always worth it when you get it all set up and see what you've been doing for the last 3 days. The bride chose to do a cupcake cake, with one 9 inch cake tier on top, and the color inspiration for the reception was taken from a peacock feather. Different feathers were used throughout the reception decor.

The actual cake layer was white cake with a strawberry filling, covered in vanilla buttercream, and then MMF. Half the cupcakes were red velvet cupcakes with a cream cheese icing filling and frosting. The other half were white cake cupcakes with a strawberry filling and vanilla buttercream icing.

To make the white cake I use a regular cake mix, but doctor it a little to make it more moist and delicious.

White cake (and cupcakes)
Box Cake Mix
1 box (4 serving size) regular (not sugar free) instant pudding mix
Number of eggs called for on cake box + 1
Double the amount of oil called for on cake box
1 cup water (use lemonade if making a lemon cake)

Beat the eggs to mix together the whites and yolks
Slowly beat in the oil
Mix in the pudding mix
Add 1/2 of the cake mix and 1/2 of the water, mix until combined
Add rest of cake mix and rest of water, mix until combined
Beat on high for 3 minutes

Bake at 350 degrees, may take 45 to 50 minutes to bake, depending on size of pan, start checking for doneness at 30 minutes.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 fluid ounce red food coloring
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 12 cup muffin pans or line with 20 paper baking cups.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, red food coloring and vanilla. Stir in the baking soda and vinegar. Combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.
Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 18 to 23 minutes. Cool in the pan set over a wire rack.

Strawberry Filling
recipe from wilton.com

Ingredients:
1 pkg (16 ounces) frozen sliced strawberries , packed in sugar and thawed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Makes: 2 cups of filling.

Directions:
Drain strawberries; reserving liquid. Add enough water to liquid to equal 1 1/4 cups. In large saucepan, combine strawberry liquid, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice; mix well. Heat and stir until mixture boils and thickens. Cool completely. Stir strawberries into the cooled mixture. Refrigerate until ready to use. Fill cupcake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Strawberry Cream Filling
recipe from wilton.com

Ingredients:

1 pkg (16 ounces) frozen sliced strawberries in syrup thawed
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Makes: 2 1/2 cups of filling.

Directions:
Combine strawberries, cream and corn starch in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and chill before filling cupcakes or using as an icing on cupcakes.


Cream Cheese Icing
Makes: About 5 1/2 cups of icing.

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (about 2 lbs.)
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
In medium mixer bowl, cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth, add vanilla. Add sugar one cup at a time and milk. Mix well. Beat on high until smooth (only 30 seconds to 1 minute). Thin to ice cake smooth; use full strength for piping borders.

NOTE: Do not use light cream cheese or butter substitute. If margarine is used, icing will be softer.

Spice Rubbed Chicken Breast Tacos with Grilled Poblanos, BBQ Onions and Coleslaw

I know, I know, another Mexican meal. All of you who have asked if I was of Latin decent are probably questioning now whether I lied to you and I really am Mexican. I'm not, I promise. I just like Mexican food! Anyway, we had people over to watch the Jazz/Nuggets (GO JAZZ) game last week and I made these to feed the crowd. They were pretty delicious, and I think were worth the wait (dinner was served a little later than planned, oops, sorry again).

Spice Rubbed Chicken Breast Tacos with Grilled Poblanos, BBQ Onions and Coleslaw
recipe from Foodnetwork.com (Bobby Flay)

Ingredients

Grilled Poblanos:
3 large poblanos
Canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

BBQ Onions:
2 sweet onions, skin-on, and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
Canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill BBQ Sauce (or your favorite jarred variety)

Coleslaw:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed
3 tablespoons apple-cider vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small head cabbage, cored, finely shredded
2 carrots, finely shredded
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

Chicken:
2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (8 ounces each)
Canola oil
8 flour tortillas
2 grilled sliced poblanos
Barbecued onions
Coleslaw
Guacamole

For the poblanos:
Directions
Heat the grill to high.

Brush the poblanos with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the chiles on the grill and cook until charred on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from the grill, place in a bowl and cover with plastic for 10 minutes. Remove the skin, seeds and stem and cut into thin slices.


For the onions:
Brush the onions with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on the grill and cook until lightly golden brown and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Brush with some of the bbq sauce during the last few minutes. Most of the skin should come off on the grill, but if not, take it off when the onions come off the grill.


For the coleslaw:
Whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, celery salt, celery seed, vinegar and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cabbage, carrot, onion and scallion and stir to combine, season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Let slaw sit at least 15 minutes before serving.


For the chicken:
Heat the grill to high.

Whisk together the ancho, cinnamon, cumin, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper in a small bowl.

Season top side of the breasts with the rub mixture, turn over and season the back with the remaining salt. Drizzle with some of the oil and place on the grill, rub side down and grill until lightly golden brown and a crust has formed, about 3 minutes. Turn the chicken over, close the lid and continue cooking until just cooked through, about 6 minutes longer. Remove from the grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Grill the flour tortillas briefly, just to mark and heat. To build the tacos, fold each tortilla around some of the chicken, poblanos, onions, coleslaw and guacamole.

Thank you Bobby Flay!

Deviled eggs

One of my favorite Easter picnic snacks... the deviled egg!

Deviled Eggs

Ingredients
6 hard-boiled eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
Paprika

Directions
1.Slice eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks and set whites aside. In a small bowl, mash yolks with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, mustard and salt; mix well. Stuff or pipe into egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate until serving.

Wedding cake

This weekend I got to make a wedding cake for a girl in my ward. I had a lot of fun doing it and was happy with how it turned out. The picture is bad lighting, but the cake was white with blue ribbon.

The middle and top layer were Chocolate Fudge cake with white chocolate truffle filling and covered in vanilla buttercream icing. The whole cake was covered in MMF.

Chocolate Fudge Cake
recipe from wilton.com

Ingredients:
•2 cups all-purpose flour unsifted
•1 teaspoon baking powder
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•3/4 cup butter or margarine room temperature
•2 cups sugar
•3 eggs
•1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•1 1/2 cups milk
•3 ounces unsweetened chocolate melted
•Cake Release
Makes: 6 cups of batter.


Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Cream butter and sugar together until light in texture. Add eggs and vanilla to creamed mixture. Beat thoroughly. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Add melted chocolate and beat thoroughly.

Brush two 8 or 9 in. cake pans with Cake Release or generously grease pans with solid vegetable shortening and flour, or use Cake Release (Click here for complete instructions on preparing baking pans.) Pour batter into pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly in center


White Chocolate Truffle filling

Ingredients:
2 cups chilled whipping cream
1/8 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 pound good-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Baker's), finely chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Instructions
Bring 1 cup cream and butter to simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Remove from heat. Add white chocolate and stir until smooth. Whisk in vanilla. Let white chocolate mixture stand at room temperature until lukewarm, about 20 minutes.

Using electric mixer, beat remaining 1 cup cream in large bowl until peaks form. Working in 3 batches, fold in lukewarm white chocolate mixture. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.


Buttercream Icing
recipe from wilton.com

Ingredients:
•1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
•1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
•1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
•4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
•2 tablespoons milk
Makes: About 3 cups of icing

Instructions
(Medium Consistency)
In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes

Marshmallow Fondant

15 oz. mini marshmallows
2 Tblsp water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
2 tsp light corn syrup (helps w/ pliability)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon extract
2 lbs (approx 7 C) confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/2 C Crisco or vegetable shortening


Directions:
Grease microwave proof bowl w/ Crisco. Also grease wooden or heat proof spoon. Pour marshmallows and water into bowl. Microwave for approximately 2 minutes stopping and stirring at 40 second intervals. Mixture should be soupy.

Take out of microwave and immediately add corn syrup, lemon juice, salt and extracts. Stir well. Sift confectioner's sugar into mixture, one cup at a time. After approximately 5 cups, grease your hands well with Crisco and knead the mixture in the bowl. Add the sixth cup and continue to knead. Now grease your work surface well and turn mixture out of bowl onto counter. Sift remaining sugar, regrease hands, and knead well. If mixture seems soft, add one additional cup of powdered sugar.

Shape into a mound and put a coating of crisco on outside. Double wrap in cling wrap and insert into ziplock bag. Press air out of bag and seal. Allow to rest overnight, but, can be used after sitting for a few hours.


To make gumpaste, add Gum-Tex (wilton) or Tylose powder. Knead in and let rest 2 hours or more.

Salmon Tacos with Creamy Tomatillo dressing

I've noticed a theme in my cooking lately... Mexican! I feel like sometimes I get stuck and obsessed with a particular cuisine, and it takes a while to get out. But hey, if I'm going to be stuck, it might as well be Mexican. As I've mentioned before, I frequent Cafe Rio. I love their salmon tacos, so of course recreating them was the right thing to do. I don't know exactly how they flavor their salmon, so I just use a favorite and very simple marinade for mine.

You can put whatever you'd like on yours, but here's how I assemble mine:

tortillas (small taco-size)
Salmon (recipe follows)
Creamy Tomatillo dressing (recipe follows)
pico de gallo
fresh cilantro


Salmon

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
• lemon pepper to taste
• garlic powder to taste
• salt to taste
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  

Directions

1. Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.
2. In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
3. Preheat grill for medium heat.
4. Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

Ingredients

• 3 fresh tomatillos, peeled, cored, and cut into quarters
  
• 1 pkg Ranch buttermilk dressing ( I like to use a fiesta Ranch packet)
  
• 3/4 Cup Mayo
  
• 3/4 Cup buttermilk
  
• 1 Cup fresh cilantro
  
• 2 cloves garlic
  
• 1/4 tsp. crushed cayenne pepper
  

Directions

Put all of the above ingredients in a blender or food processor. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Should last in fridge for about 10 days.

I love Cafe Rio!

Here in our house we are big fans of Cafe Rio. I personally like the sweet pork, any way they serve it (salad, burrito, etc). I've tried a few different copy-cat recipes for the sweet pork, and finally found my favorite. I've made it many times, using it for salads or burritos. For our superbowl party I made the sweet pork for tacos. The blog I found that had this recipe also had the recipe for the rice, black beans and salad dressing. If you take the time to make it all, you'll have a Cafe Rio experience at home!

Depending on how you plan to serve this, you'll need a few other ingredients for assembly.

For Salad-
Tortillas (about 6 large)
Cheese)
Lettuce (NOT iceberg, use leafy green or Romaine)
Diced tomato, onion, and cilantro (pico de gallo)
Guacamole (optional)
Tortilla Strips (can be found by the produce section at Smith's)
Parmesan cheese
Creamy Tomatillo Ranch (click HERE)

Here is how to put it all together: First of all, we bought the aluminum deep-dish pans (they had these at the grocery store, you will know when you see them.. they look JUST like the Cafe Rio tins). Lay a tortilla in the bottom of the pan, sprinkle cheese on it, and put in the oven at 375 for about 5 min or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven, add beans, rice, pork, then lettuce and a little scoop of diced tomato and onions (pico de gallo). Add guacamole (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). Add crushed tortilla chips, a shake of Parmesan cheese, and top with a few cilantro leaves. Serve with the cilantro ranch dressing and there you have it!

For Burritos- lay tortilla on bottom of aluminum pan, sprinkle some cheese on it. Add a little rice, beans and pork. Fold up like a burrito then sprinkle more cheese on top. Stick in oven on broil for about a minute, or until cheese is melted.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork
recipe from favfamilyrecipes.com

2 pounds pork
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can RED enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness)
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!


CILANTRO-LIME RICE

1 c. uncooked rice
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.


BLACK BEANS

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c. tomato juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.