Parker House Rolls

Here is another excellent recipe that came from my friend Katie at our recipe exchange. These rolls are heavenly! They taste a little sweeter than a regular dinner roll and the small pat of butter baked in the middle of each roll doesn't hurt either!  Yum.  Make sure to seal each roll really good or it will pop open on you while baking.

Parker House Rolls

Author: Amy

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. warm water


• 3/4 c. scalded milk


• 1 T. active dry yeast


• 7 T. sugar


• 3/4 t. salt


• 1/4 c. oil


• 4-5 c. sifted all purpose flour

Instructions

1. Put 3/4 c. warm water in a measuring cup.


2. Add 1 T. sugar and yeast. Let the yeast sit for a moment until it begins to react.


3. Mix yeast mixture, milk, salt, oil and remaining sugar in a mixing bowl.


4. Add flour until consistency is right for kneading. (Dough should be slightly sticky.)


5. Knead for a few minutes.


6. Take dough out of the bowl, shape it into a ball and place it back in the bowl.


7. Let rise for approximately 3 hrs.


8. Roll dough out to 1/2-3/4 inches thick.


9. Cut into 3" circle. (I just used the top of a glass cup to do this. You could also use a round cookie cutter.)


10. Place a small pat of butter in the middle of the circle.


11. Fold circles in half to cover butter. Firmly seal closed.


12. Place rolls on a greased baking sheet.


13. Repeat process until all the dough has been shaped into rolls.


14. Let rise for an additional 30 minutes.


15. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-14 minutes or until golden.

3.2.2885

Dragon Birthday Cake

I made this fun cake a few months back for my son's 2nd birthday. I'm always a little nervous until I have a finished product in my hands but I actually loved how this one turned out! My 2 year old got a big kick out of it! I got some pretty funny pictures of him pretending to be a dragon too, roaring and trying to eat the whole cake without any hands. It was a good night:) I would definitely make this cake again. The icing used for the scales is time-consuming but very easy and totally worth it. And with a little creativity and a few minor changes in the decorating, this cake could easily pass for a dragon, dinosaur, alligator etc. Bonus! The biggest advice I could give, and this goes for any birthday cake, would be to start early! Most of the time I try to bake the cakes the night before and freeze them overnight, and I can get right to work the next morning. Give yourself lots of time (just in case) and creating a special cake for your little one becomes so much more fun and a lot less stressful!

Dragon Birthday Cake

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe

2 (9-inch) round cakes, prepared
3 (16-oz) tubs of white frosting, if you go really heavy on the frosting you may want to buy an extra tub just in case
Green food coloring
Pastry bag, wide star tip & wide round tip
Chocolate sugar wafer cookies, cut on diagonal and paired with second cookie on the long side
2 blue M & M's for eyes
Red licorice, cut into triangles for teeth
16 chocolate chips

1. Using a cake mix or your favorite recipe, bake 2 (9-inch) round cakes in a well greased/floured pan. Allow to cool completely before removing. Very carefully remove from pan. You may now freeze the cakes for easier handling while shaping if you wish and have the time but it isn't necessarily essential, just makes the cake a lot easier to work with.

2. For the body, cut the first cake in half and sandwich the halves together, flat sides facing, with a layer of frosting in between. Set the cake upright with the cut side down, using a few dabs of frosting to stick it to the serving plate, if needed.

3. For the appendages, use 2nd round cake to shape different body parts (see diagram below) and attach to the body using frosting or possibly toothpicks if needed. Crumb coat the entire dragon with a light layer of frosting. Doesn't have to be perfect but worth the extra step. This was one of the most difficult steps for me as the cake I used for the appendages was quite soft and crumbly at this point. If you have time, stick it in the freezer for a bit beforehand and your life will be a little easier.

(These may not be exactly the right proportions, I just wanted to give you an idea of what I did.  I probably made the tail just a little bigger than drawn below)


4. Tint the remaining frosting green or any other color you prefer, reserving 1/2 T. white frosting for the placement of the eyes. Using a pastry bag with a wide, star tip and working from the bottom up to just below the top of the head cover the dragon's head and tail with peaks of green icing. Switch to a round tip, and cover the feet and head of the dragon with streaks of green frosting.

5. For the final touches, add chocolate wafer cookie back plates, chocolate chip claws, 2 blue M & M's for the eyes, and red licorice for the teeth. (Note: I didn't use any but if you choose to use toothpicks at all, be sure to remove them when serving the cake:)

Katie's Slush

My friend Katie made this slush at our girls night out a few weeks ago. It was delicious! I had been craving it ever since so when Thanksgiving rolled around I thought it was the perfect opportunity to whip some up! We didn't have a very large group this year, so we just broke the frozen slush off in chunks, poured the ginger ale over our cups and enjoyed it all weekend long. This slush would obviously be wonderful in the summer but also works great for a holiday party treat. Enjoy!

Katie's Slush

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe

1/2 c. sugar
4 c. water
12 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate
6 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate
1 (48oz) can pineapple juice
3-4 bananas, mashed very well
1 bottle of Ginger Ale

Bring sugar and water to a boil. Cool slightly. Stir sugar water, orange juice, lemonade, pineapple juice, and bananas until mixed well. Freeze until solid. A few minutes before serving, remove from freezer. Using a knife, cut chunks off and break apart the slush a bit and place in a punch bowl. If it is too frozen, you may defrost slush in the microwave for a few seconds but be extra careful not to melt the slush. Using a potato masher or other desired method, mash slush until it is the right consistency. If you like punch a little chunkier, don't mash as much. When mashed, pour ginger ale over the slush and serve immediately.

Scary Spider Cookies

Are you looking for a fun but very simple Halloween activity for your little one? These Scary Spider Cookies are perfect! It doesn't get any easier than this. My four year old loves making his own spiders and my two year old especially loves eating them! I think these cookies turn out the cutest using black string licorice for the legs. Unfortunately, the store I went to didn't have black string licorice or Halloween Oreos:( Oh well, a quick project like this isn't worth multiple trips to grocery stores (in my opinion) so just grab what you can find and go! Have fun, your kiddos definitely will!

Scary Spider Cookies

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Recipe Source: adapted from Betty Crocker Celebrate

Black twist licorice (or black string licorice)
Oreos (any flavor works fine, but you might want to grab the orange-filled Halloween Oreos if you can find any!)
3 T. ready-to-spread frosting (chocolate is best)
Mini M & M's

Cut licorice in 1 1/2-inch pieces. If using twists, such as red vines, cut each 1 1/2-inch piece in fourths length-wise. If using string licorice, just pull apart 1 1/2-inch pieces. Carefully twist open cookie. Insert 4 pieces of cut licorice into the icing of each side of cookie to make legs. Push those legs into the icing pretty good and gently close the cookie. With frosting, attach 2 mini M & M's to top of each cookie for eyes.

Very Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

Oh my goodness, this breakfast is seriously heavenly!!!  I never thought anything could rival my favorite Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, but this just might!  I made this for my family's 4th of July breakfast and it was perfect.  In fact, it would be perfect for just about any holiday breakfast in my opinion.  Of course I love fresh strawberries with pretty much anything, especially french toast, but the zesty orange cream cheese mixture in the middle was what really caught my attention.  Yum!  If you're morning looks like it's going to be a busy one, I would recommend making the strawberry syrup, cutting the fresh strawberries, and setting out the appropriate condiments the night before.  Hey if you want to make your life really easy, set the table the night before!  Enjoy.

VERY STRAWBERRY STUFFED FRENCH TOAST

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Recipe Source: adapted from Sandra Lee recipe

1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
2 T. strawberry preserves
1 T. shredded orange zest
4 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
2 T. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
8 slices Texas Toast-style bread
Strawberry Syrup (I like this one of Erin's)
Butter
Sliced fresh strawberries
Powdered sugar (optional)
1 Decorating bag or small sandwich bag

In a small mixing bowl, stir together softened cream cheese, strawberry preserves and orange zest until smooth. Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, orange juice concentrate and vanilla extract. Pour into a shallow bowl or pie plate. Set aside.

With a paring or serrated knife, very carefully slice a pocket into the side of each bread slice (do not cut all the way through the bread). It's okay if you accidentally cut through the side of the bread a little, just do you best. Using a good quality bread and knife will make this task easier. Fill pocket with a heaping spoonful of cream cheese mixture. I have found that the easiest way to add the cream cheese mixture for me is to spoon it into a decorating bag (typically used for icing cupcakes) and insert it into the pocket that way. If you don't have any decorating bags, a small hole cut in the bottom corner of a plastic sandwich bag should do the trick as well. If you have any leftover cream cheese, save it for later as a delicious smeare on bagels, crackers, etc!

Pull out your favorite griddle or skillet. Carefully dip filled bread in egg mixture and brown for 1-2 minutes per side or until cooked. Serve hot with butter, strawberry syrup, sliced fresh strawberries and powdered sugar. Makes 4 servings.

Racetrack Cake

I made this adorable Racetrack Cake for my son's first birthday.  We had a Racecar Party!  Cars were definitely his favorite toys at the time, so the theme seemed fitting.  At first I planned on having just a small get-together.  Well you know me, I start gathering ideas, and I just can't seem to help myself from throwing a big, over-planned-but-worth-it PARTY!!  We ate hamburgers and chips and the kinds of food you would find at a racetrack.  I made 2 racecars out of big cardboard boxes and divided the guests into teams and had a obstacle course race with prizes for the winners (at first I was just going to have the kids run the race but at the last minute I made the adults participate and there is only one way to describe what happened next...HILARIOUS!)  We had a tire toss, colored wooden racecars, did cake and presents, and handed out a goodie-bag full of racecar paraphernalia to each kid (gotta love Oriental Trading:) and called it a night.  Phew...  The party turned out to be a so much fun (if I do say so myself!) and of course this cake was at the fore-front of the decorations.  It looked so festive and actually impressive, which is very  funny to me because it might just be the easiest birthday cake I've ever attempted.  In other words, complete success!!

Racetrack Cake

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Recipe Source: Family Fun

2 baked 9" round cakes
3 cups white icing
1-2 cups finely crushed chocolate cookie crums
2-3 cups green-dyed coconut
White Good & Plenty candies
Checked Paper or ribbon
2 toothpicks and tape
New toy cars, washed with soap and water

Using a favorite recipe or box, bake 2-9" round cakes according to package directions. Make sure to grease cake pans well. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pans. If time allows, you may even want to freeze them, which makes them much easier to handle. Cut a small semicircular notch from one cake, then position the cakes as shown below.

Using white frosting, apply a quick crumb coat to the cakes. If you have time, RE-FREEZE the cakes! It makes it so much easier to ice. When ready, cover the cakes generously in white frosting.

Place a small bowl in the center of each cake and sprinkle cookie crumbs around it to create the track.

Remove the bowls and softly press dyed-coconut onto each icing circle, then press the remaining coconut onto the sides of the cake for grass.

Lay white Good & Plenty candies in a dotted line along the center of the track.  Line the perimeter of the track with white Good & Plenty's as well.  If you run out of candies, you may also use a pastry bag to pipe a white icing border around the edge of the cake.

Create racing flags by taping small square of the paper or ribbon to the toothpicks and place them on track along with the race cars.

Go-to Grilled Chicken Marinade

This recipe is definitely a go-to chicken marinade for my family. We love it! It would be perfect for your next backyard bbq. It is really flavorful and makes the chicken really moist. And we eat a lot of chicken around here! This makes a lot of marinade so scale back if you aren't cooking for a crowd. I would say that the full recipe would be plenty of marinade for at least 12 good-sized chicken breasts, maybe a little more if the chicken breasts are on the smaller-medium side. However this delicious chicken is so good I'm sure you'll find plenty of ways to use up your leftovers!  Enjoy!

Go-to Grilled Chicken Marinade

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe

1 1/2 c. canola oil (I usually reduce this a little. The oil makes the chicken super moist though)
3/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/3 c. lemon juice
2 T. dry mustard
1 t. salt
1 T. black pepper
1 1/2 t. finely minced fresh parsley

In a medium bowl, mix together oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Stir in mustard powder, salt, pepper, and parsley. Use to marinate chicken before cooking as desired. The longer you marinate, the more flavor it will have. I always try and do mine overnight if possible.

Ben and Jerry's Strawberry Ice Cream

Mindy and I must be one the same wavelength this week, hooray for HOMEMADE ICE CREAM time! Please excuse my melty picture. Ice cream sure doesn't wait for the perfect shot! This recipe is one my Mom made for me last summer, when she had a lot of extra strawberries on hand, and it's great! It's one of the most popular recipes from the Ben and Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream recipe book. So good and the perfect treat on a warm summer's night.

Ben and Jerry's Strawberry Ice Cream

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe

1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/3 c. sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Sweet Cream Base (see below)

Most popular sweet cream base (this base is especially good as a background for fruit, cookies, and candy):
2 large eggs
3/4 c. sugar
2 c. heavy or whipping cream
1 c. milk

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend. Makes 1 quart. 

Broccoli Florets with Toasted Garlic and Ginger Crumbs

I have often struggled getting my 3 boys (husband included) to eat their vegetables. Especially broccoli for some reason! I can usually get a few choked-down pieces in each of my little guys tummies by the end of dinner, but man is it exhausting sometimes! So to say the least, I was quite astounded and relieved when I served this broccoli for the first time and had 3 boys happily gobbling up their servings. Miracle of miracles! The toasted garlic, ginger, and bread crumbs add just the right touch to this healthy dish and won't be leaving our house anytime soon!

Broccoli Florets with Toasted Garlic and Ginger Crumbs

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Recipe Source: Mann's

1 1/2 lbs broccoli florets
1/3 c. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. grated fresh ginger
2/3 c. panko (Japanese bread crumbs) or regular bread crumbs (this is what I usually use)
1 T. low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1/4 t. salt
1 T. grated lemon peel

Put 1 inch of water in a heavy 5-quart pot, then put a steamer basket inside the pot and bring the water to a boil. Add broccoli and steam, covered, until just tender, 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over moderately low heat. Add garlic and ginger; cook, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in bread crumbs, soy sauce, pepper and salt, then increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bread crumbs are golden, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in grated lemon peel. Remove broccoli from steamer basket when just tender and transfer to a large bowl. Add desired amount of crumb mixture to the broccoli and toss to coat and serve. (Sometimes I add a little less than the entire amount)

Wonderful Fruit Pizza

My friend Heather made these for a baby shower for another friend of ours. I couldn't stop eating them! I love fruit pizza and this version is great!   "I need this recipe." I told her. She just smiled and said, "I know. They're my favorite." Something about the buttery crust, cream cheese frosting, and fruit just makes these hard to stop eating! I love that you can add basically whatever fruit you have in the fridgetoo. Strawberries and kiwi are definitely my favorites but the possibilities are endless!

Wonderful Fruit Pizza

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe

Crust:
1 c. sugar
1 stick butter
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda

Frosting:
11 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla

Sliced fruit for topping-strawberries, kiwi, banana, mandarin oranges, peaches, berries, etc.

Cream sugar, butter and eggs together. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Slowly add to sugar/butter mixture and mix to form soft dough. Spread on a greased jelly roll pan. (I just used a regular cookie sheet, and worked the dough with my floured hands to evenly spread dough-worked great) Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Set aside and cool.

Mix together icing ingredients and spread on cooled crust. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, cut into bars. Place desired cut fruit on each square and serve!

Green Salad with Orange Dressing

Here's another one of my new go-to salads. I'm sure I'll make it a ton this summer.  This salad is tasty and really simple! Which is pretty much a requirement for me if it's being used as a side dish. I made it with some marinated chicken the other night, which was soo good too. I'll have to post the recipe soon. It went great!  As a side note, if you have a lot of navel oranges to use up, cut them into to chunks and replace the mandarin oranges with them.  I love it this way too!  Or add some shredded chicken and serve it as a main dish with hot rolls. Yum! Thanks to my sister Melissa for passing along another great recipe.

Green Salad with Orange Dressing

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe

Salad:
1 head lettuce, chopped
*The rest of these ingredients can be adjusted to your preferences
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced (sometimes I use a little less)
1 11oz can mandarin oranges, drained
6 oz sliced almonds (sometimes I use a little more)
4.5 T. sugar

Dressing:
1 t. grated orange peel
1/3 cup Orange juice
1 T. Good Seasons dry Italian mix
1 c. canola oil (I haven't tried it yet, but I think you could cut this down if you prefer less oil in your dressings)
2 T. sugar
2 T. red wine vinegar

Sugar almonds in a pan over medium heat, stirring until sugar melts and coats the almonds. Watch carefully so they don't burn. Cool. Set aside. Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and chill. Combine salad dressing ingredients well and pour over salad immediately before serving.

How To: Cut Bell Peppers

Ahhh...bell peppers. I'm sure a lot of you already have a favorite way to chop these. So if you do and you love it, stick with it! However, since a lot of our recipes call for bell peppers, including the Amazing Chilis Fajitas which I made a quadruple batch of a few days ago:), I thought I'd post a quick "how to" on my favorite way to chop these delicious peppers. In addition to tasting great and adding tons of color and appeal, a bell pepper is also great for you. It is an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin A, as well as many other nutrients and is a pretty good source of fiber. Here are the nutritional facts.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 medium pepper (148 g)
Amount per Serving:
Calories-30
Calories from Fat-0
Total Fat-0g
Saturated Fat-0g
Cholesterol-0g
Sodium-0g
Total Carbohydrate-8g
Dietary Fiber-2g
Sugars-0g
Protein-1g

Bell peppers are pretty much available year-round, although their peak season is summer/fall. By the way, did you know that a red pepper is actually a fully ripened green pepper with a milder flavor?

How To: Cutting Bell Peppers
Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe

1. Wash and dry bell pepper. Using a sharp knife, carefully chop off the top and bottom of the pepper.

2. I like to use as much of the pepper as possible, so I then cut off the pepper around the stem. Slice or chop and set aside. Do the same with the bottom. (The stem happened to pop out on this one, but I usually just cut around it.)

3.  Reach into the pepper, grab the plug, twist your hand and pull it out.  Discard.

4.  Set the pepper upright on the cutting board and slice in half.  At this point you may also slice it into four equal pieces if you would like shorter slices of pepper.



5. Grabbing the pepper in one hand, use a paring knife (or just your fingers if you're lazy like me:) and remove the inside rind and seeds. Rinse if necessary.



6. Placing pepper skin-side down on cutting board, cut vertical slices down the length of the pepper. If you're in a hurry, you may also stack the pepper to speed things up a bit! You may now grab the pepper slices, and dice them in the opposite direction.



7. Here's a little trick for dicing, for you type A people out there. If you want nice, uniform pieces of diced pepper you can make even vertical slices running almost the entire length of the pepper. Next, turn the pepper counterclockwise and slice in the opposite direction!



That's it! Now try out your techniques on some of our favorite recipes with bell peppers! Here's some delicious ideas: Amazing Asian Noodle Salad, Cheesy Chicken Fajita Dip, Deliciously Easy Stir-Fry, Amazing Chilis Fajitas, Grilled Pesto Shrimp and Summer Veggies, Thai Lettuce Cups and there's so many more. Enjoy!

Fudgy Walnut Brownies

If you love nuts, you will love these moist, Fudgy Walnut Brownies! They originally caught my eye because my husband is usually of the opinion, "The more nuts the better". These were right up his ally...mine too actually. My husband even asked me to make a pan for a friend of his. Well 2 batches later and we still haven't delivered a pan to his friend, we just keep eating them! Ahh shucks, I guess I'll just have to make them again!

Fudgy Walnut Brownies

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Recipe Source: Taste of Home3/4 Cup butter, cubed

4 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

WALNUT CRUNCH TOPPING:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 T. all-purpose flour
1 t. vanilla extract
4 cups chopped walnuts

In a microwave, melt butter and chocolate. I like to use 50% power, stirring every 30-60 sec until completely melted. Stir until smooth. Cool slightly.

In a a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar; stir in chocolate mixture and vanilla. (If you need to wait for your chocolate to cool down a little more, you can get started on the topping, if you don't mind multi-tasking) Stir in flour until well blended. Pour into a greased 13 x 9 in. baking pan; set aside.

For topping, combine brown sugar and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook and stir over low-medium heat until butter is melted. Stir in the eggs, flour and vanilla until well blended. Stir in nuts.

Spread walnut crunch topping evenly over brownie batter. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs. Do not over bake.

Cool completely on a wire rack.

Sweet Chili Tortilla Soup

This soup is amazing, and even better, I would definitely place this soup in the "very good for you" category. I'm pretty sure this flavorful soup could probably be squeezed into almost any diet (except the crazy ones obviously:). So if you're currently in the category of "I'm watching what I eat" or even if you're just trying to be healthy, this soup is for you! In fact, Mom actually passed this recipe along to me. She received it from a friend whose husband is on a strict low-carb, diabetic diet. I would have been skeptical, if it hadn't been Mom passing it along, but it was great. Obviously if you're counting calories, you're going to want to go really light on the tortilla strips and garnishes and cut out the olive oil...don't worry this soup can stand on it's own two feet. Otherwise, I say throw 'em on there baby. I do recommend adding the ancho chili, it adds a delicious unique flavor. Ancho chilies are a mild, fruity chili that is just the dried form of poblanos, and are the sweetest of all dried chilies. You may be able to find them in your local grocery store. If not, you should be able to find them in your local Mexican market for super cheap. Eat up!

Sweet Chili Tortilla Soup

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe

1 dried ancho chili
1/2 cup boiling water
2 T. olive oil
3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or breasts, or equivalent amount of rotisserie chicken)
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch coins (or equivalent baby carrots)
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3 garlic cloves, peeled and quartered
2 t. ground cumin
6 cups chicken broth (or stock)
3 cans (14.5 oz each) chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves (I probably use a little more)
10 corn tortillas, for frying
For garnish use any of the following:
Sliced avocado

Crumbled queso fresco, or shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
Sour cream
Salsa
Lime wedges
Cilantro

1. Place chili in a small, heatproof bowl; pour boiling water over and let soak 30 minutes. Drain; remove stem and seeds. Slice into 1/2 inch strips and set aside.

2. In a large soup pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add chicken; season with salt and pepper. Brown on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Continue to cook about 8 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and cumin and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add broth, reserved chili, tomatoes, and cilantro and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes. With your hands, tear 3 tortillas into 2-inch strips and add to the soup. Continue to simmer about 15 minutes.

3. With a slotted spoon, remove chicken to a cutting board; take soup off heat. With a immersion blender, puree soup until smooth (I just use my regular blender and it works fine or you can puree the soup in small batches in a food processor fitter with knife blade). Return to pan. With two forks, shred chicken; return to soup. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Slice remaining tortillas with a pizza cutter into 1/4-inch strips. In a small saucepan, heat 1.5 inch canola oil until very hot. Fry tortilla strips until crisp, about 1 minute. With a slotted spoon, remove strips to a paper-towel-lined plate and season with salt. Serve soup in bowls topped with tortilla strips and any or all of the optional garnishes.

*If watching calories, try baking the tortilla strips until crisp, instead of frying them. Cut them up, place them on a baking sheet, sprinkle them with salt and pop them in the oven. I personally haven't made them this way yet, so I'm not sure how long to cook them, but I'm sure it would be great! Let us know if you try it this way:)

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE!!

Chocolate Cookie Bites

I love these cute bite-sized cookies! They have that almond extract taste to them so if you like that, you'll like these. They are a nice change from your everyday cookie and just the right size to pop in your mouth. I first got this recipe from my friend/neighbor Kat around Christmas time. She brought me over a baggie of them and after sampling the first cookie, I found myself hiding the rest of the bag in a secret cupboard so I didn't have to share with all the boys. I knew they just wouldn't appreciate them as much as me and we had plenty of other junk food around the house at that time! The next week at church, I spotted Kat and just as I was going up to ask her for the recipe, she was already talking to someone else about sending them the recipe too. You can put any color sprinkles you want on them, I was just wanting to use up some brown sprinkles. But they look even cuter with silver or even those little pearl sprinkles. And I definitely like them best as bite-sized cookies for some reason. Maybe it's because I can eat more of them without feeling as guilty:) It does take longer than rolling out bigger cookies, so recruit some family members, but in the end that's my favorite way to eat them. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cookie Bites
Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe

1 C. butter, softened
1 C. sugar
1 egg
1/2 t. almond extract
1/2 t. vanilla extract
2 C. flour
1/2 C. cocoa
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/8 t. salt
additional sugarIcing:
Powdered sugar
Milk
Melted butter
Almond extract

Beat butter and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Add egg, almond extract and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating to form smooth dough.Heat oven to 350. Roll dough into balls. If you choose to make the cookies bite-size you will need to make the balls really small. Probably about the size of a large marble. They probably cook up just less than double the size of the dough, so take that into consideration.

Next, roll dough in a bowl of granulated sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press thumb into the top of each ball to flatten a little. (You will be filling the the imprint with your icing later on)Bake 8 to 9 minutes. You may need to cook longer if you are making regular sized cookies. Make sure you don't overbake them, although the icing softens them up a little bit too.

Next make the icing. I forgot to measure out the ingredients, I just kind of eye-balled it. I'll try and remember to add them next time I make these but it is really easy. Just put a few cups, or however much you think you will need, of powdered sugar into a mixing bowl. Then very slowly add the milk to the powdered sugar until you reach the consistency you want. I like the icing on the thicker side so I probably only add a few T. or so. Then add 1-2 capfuls of almond extract. It depends on how much you like almond extract. I love it so I probably added at least 2. Then add a T. or so of melted butter for each few cups of powdered sugar and mix well.

Ice cookies, add sprinkles and enjoy!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

These are the most amazing pancakes!!! Definitely another keeper for our growing pancake collection. I love the lemon-strawberry combination. I seriously think I might have to make these my birthday pancakes from now on (which means my hubby better start practicing...:). Maybe they taste a little bit more like a dessert than a regular pancake, and they take a few extra minutes to prepare, but I promise they are oh-so-worth it!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe

PANCAKES:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 t. salt, plus a pinch for egg whites
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs, separated
1 heaping cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup milk
2 Meyer lemons, zested and juiced
butter, for cooking the pancakes-optional
Powdered sugar, for dusting

STRAWBERRY COULIS:
1 quart strawberries, topped and quartered
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice

Toss the strawberries with the sugar and orange juice. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

After the berries and sugar have macerated and become very juicy, remove 1/2 of the berry mixture, put it in a food processor and puree until smooth. Return it to the rest of the berries and reserve until ready to use.

Sift together all of the dry ingredients for the pancakes in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the egg yolks, ricotta cheese, milk and lemon zest and juice, and mix until it becomes homogeneous. Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients to the well and whisk until combined.

Preheat a griddle.

In another bowl, using a whisk or electric mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the flour mixture in thirds. Do this quickly and gently so the pancakes will be light and fluffy.

Melt small pats of butter onto the preheated griddle, and spread it around with a paper towel to remove any excess butter. (I usually just use non-stick cooking spray, but it's up to you:) Spoon or ladle the pancake batter onto the prepared griddle to desired size of the pancake. When the top of the pancake is full of holes, like bubbles have risen to the surface and burst, the pancake is ready to flip. Flip the pancakes and cook until the bottom is golden brown.

Remove the pancakes from the grill to serving plates. Top with the macerated strawberry coulis and garnish with powdered sugar.

Chicken Wraps with Creamy Asian Peanut Sauce

I hope you all had a wonderful President's Day yesterday! My husband made plans for us to go ice fishing, which would have been a very new experience for me:) But unfortunately our plans fell through and we ended up salvaging the holiday by getting a big group of friends together to go see the movie Tangled with our kids at the dollar theaters. Have you all seen it already? If not, GO! It is so so adorable. My boys were glued to the screen and I must admit, so was I. So now that you've heard my plug for Tangled...let's talk Chicken Wraps! These chicken wraps are yummy but this creamy asian peanut sauce is amazing! Definitely the highlight of this meal. You can even make it 24 hrs in advance, refrigerate, and serve at room temperature. Anything to make preparing a meal easier is a plus in my book. This wrap is fresh, fun, and different. Hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

Chicken Wraps with Creamy Asian Peanut Sauce

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Recipe Source: adapted from Foster Farms

WRAPS:
3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 leaves Napa cabbage, chopped (about 2 cups packed)
2 cups packed baby spinach (or romaine)
1 medium carrot, grated (about 1/2 cup)
3 medium radishes, sliced (about 1/3 cup)
2 T. rice vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. canola oil
1 package 10-inch spinach wraps (6)

PEANUT SAUCE:
2 T. canola oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 T. minced peeled fresh ginger
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup chicken stock, or water, or more as needed
1 T. sugar, or more to taste
2 T. soy sauce, or more to taste
1 t. Malaysian chili sauce, sambal oelek or other Asian chili paste
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper

Cook chicken breasts using your preferred method. A fast and easy way is to cook the chicken is in the microwave on 50% power until fully cooked through. You should flip the chicken a few times as it is cooking.

In a medium bowl mix cabbage, spinach, carrot and radishes. In a small bowl, stir together rice vinegar, soy sauce and canola oil. Pour over cabbage mixture. Let stand for 5 minutes.

To prepare the peanut sauce, heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger; cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes, stirring well. Whisk in peanut butter, coconut milk, chicken stock or water, sugar, soy sauce, chili sauce and pepper. Let the sauce simmer until it is thick and richly flavored, about 5 minutes, stirring well. Add more chicken stock as needed-the sauce should be thick but pourable. Taste for seasoning, add more sugar, soy sauce and chili sauce as necessary. Serve at room temperature.

Lay spinach wraps on a clean flat surface. Divide the cabbage mixture evenly over the wraps. Top with chicken. Drizzle peanut sauce over the chicken, about 2 T. for each wrap, or as much or little as desired. Fold in the edges, wrap tightly and serve. Makes 6 servings.

Pesto Baked Chicken

Here's a yummy recipe for all you basil growers out there. Wowza...this Pesto Baked Chicken is good!! I'm sure some of you have a bag or two of this green goodness sitting in your freezer too, right? And hello, the instructions consist of 6 sentences! So easy. Pine nuts would be awesome on this chicken, but I didn't have any. I usually use walnuts instead anyway, much cheaper, and we think it tastes de-lish!

Pesto Baked Chicken

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Recipe Source: Natalie Jenson from SAA Cookbook

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. + 1 T. prepared pesto
1 1/2 t. sour cream
1 1/2 t. mayonnaise
2 T. shredded Parmesan cheese
2 T. pine nuts or walnuts

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange chicken in a single layer in a shallow baking dish. Combine pesto, sour cream, and mayonnaise in a small bowl. Brush over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese and nuts. Bake 15-25 min or until chicken is cooked through.

Pirate Birthday Cake

My 3 year old son loves pirates. He loves to play make-believe about them..."Mom, the pirate's coming...he's scaaaary", he likes to sword fight like them, and he even likes to point them out at local parks. He was just certain he had seen a real pirate last summer. I was really hoping the tattooed man with the scraggly beard and shirt off was hard of hearing as my son pointed at him, yelling, "MOMMY, PIRATE, MOMMY, PIRATE!" So when it came time for his birthday this year, we knew just what kind of birthday bash to throw for him. He positively LOVED his pirate cake and I loved how simple and absolutely adorable it was. I would definitely recommend making this cake if you are looking for something to please your pirate-loving buccaneers! If you're in a pinch, you may be able to skip a few of the freezing steps below. However, if you have time, I think they are definitely worth the extra effort. Here's the pirate invite we sent to his friends:

Pirate Cake

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Recipe Source: adapted from Betty Crocker

1 box cake mix (any flavor)
Water, canola oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
2/3 cup chocolate frosting
1 container vanilla frosting
1 chocolate-covered mint patty - eye patch
1 large marshmallow, cut in half - eye
1 blue peanut m&m or gum ball - eye
1 gummy life saver - earring
2 rolls strawberry Fruit by the Foot - stripes, mouth, eye patch
1 black licorice - hat
2 square-shaped candy-coated gum - teeth
Chocolate sprinkles
Tray or cardboard, covered, at least 18" x 15"
Gold coins, optional

1. Heat oven to 350 (325 for nonstick pans). Spray nonstick cooking spray on bottoms and sides of 1 (9-inch) round cake pan and 1 (8-inch) round cake pan. Grease them quite a bit, you'll be grateful later. (I used 2 - 9" round cake pans and just cut off a 1/2 an inch around the entire cake. It added an extra step but it worked okay) Make cake as directed on box, using water, oil, and eggs. Pour into pans.

2. Bake as directed on box. Allow cakes to cool completely (and I mean completely:). Carefully remove from pans, trying not to loose the bottom of the cake. At this point I strongly recommend freezing the cakes. It makes the cutting and icing steps MUCH MUCH easier. In fact I made my cakes the night before the party, put them in the freezer overnight, and finished up the next morning. I've tried to work on room temperature cakes before and it can be very frustrating.

3. While still frozen, use a serrated knife to cut the 9" cake almost in half. One half will be just a little bigger than the other. If you are like me and like as much guidance as possible, download the template here, and cut out and trace. Or just refer to image below. The smaller half of the 9" cake will be the hat and the larger half will be the body of our pirate. Cut 8" cake as directed below. However, don't discard the extra piece of cake as it says. That will become our pirates nose. Place cakes on tray as directed. Next, shape ears out of the extra pieces on the the 9" cake. Cut nose out of the extra piece of the 8" cake. Use a small amount of frosting to attach the ears and nose to the cake. Carefully cover with wrap and place in the freezer for an hour or so until firm again.


4. Reserve 2 teaspoons chocolate frosting. Mix 2/3 cup of vanilla frosting with reserved chocolate frosting. This tints the frosting slightly and will be used as the "skin" color for head, ears and nose. The chocolate frosting will be used for the hat. The vanilla frosting will be used for the body of the pirate. Quickly but carefully crumb coat your pirate. Adding a crumb coat layer to your cake makes frosting SO much easier. All you do is add a quick first layer of frosting to the firm cakes in the appropriate color. It doesn't need to be perfect, crumbs will show through here or there, but it allows you to do really nice and smooth top layer later on. Cover and put the cakes back in the freezer until firm again.

5. When ready, remove from freezer, smoothly ice your final layer of frosting on your cake and get ready to decorate. Add mint patty for the eye-patch, marshmallow slice and blue m&m for the eye, and gummy life-saver for the earring. Cut fruit by the foot into shapes for the shirt stripes, mouth, and strap for the eye patch and place on cake. Cut licorice to fit hat. Add gum for the teeth and chocolate sprinkles for the whiskers. Store loosely covered at room temperature. Enjoy!

*Some of you have requested a copy of the invitation so I thought I'd show you what it looks like minus all my personal information.  If you would like a copy of either a jpeg or photoshop format of this invite, leave me your email and I will send you over an original copy, which you can add your own information to.  Sorry I haven't had time to figure out how to do a shared file.  I originally designed the invitation to be 6" x 6".

Spinach, Apple and Pecan Salad

This QUICK and EASY salad is a great companion to almost any meal, especially when you don't have a lot of time to spare. So pretty much every night:) I love the toasted pecans in it. Yum! Try and eat it immediately as the dressing wilts the spinach overnight. Enjoy this tasty way to get in those veggies:)

Spinach, Apple and Pecan Salad

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Recipe Source: adapted from a Boskovich Farms recipe
Printable Recipe here

SALAD:
1 bag torn spinach leaves-abt. 10 oz
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 large red apples, chopped into bite size pieces
1/2 cup toasted pecans

DRESSING:
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 T. prepared mustard
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground black pepper

Toast pecans*. Whisk dressing ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Just before serving, chop apples and add to a large serving bowl. Next add spinach, red onions, and toasted pecans. Toss with desired amount of dressing until well coasted and serve immediately.

*To toast pecans, measure out pecans. Pour into a skillet over medium heat. Toast, stirring occasionally, until pecans are fragrant and turn a darker brown. Set aside.