Sweetie's Kitchen Adventures

I love all things tropical. This is simple to throw together and delicious! INGREDIENTS 6oz coconut yogurt 6oz double cream 1 tablespoon coconut rum, Pariot Bay is my favorite 1 banana 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar Toasted Coconut Directions  Stir together the yogurt and cream with the rum, and whisk until slightly thickened. Slice the banana and then divide the slices between four 125ml-ramekins to form a layer at the bottom of each one. Spoon in the thickened yogurt and cream mixture, filling the ramekins equally. Sprinkle about 11/2 teaspoons of sugar over each ramekin, then wrap them in clingfilm, and place in the fridge overnight or for the day. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and enjoy!! ADDITIONAL INFO You need to make these the morning of the evening you want to eat them (or the day before, if that’s easier for you), but they take no more than 5 minutes to prepare.   Original Recipe  by Nigella Lawson

Can you ever have too much of a good thing? I love Italian food and this is a good thing!! This is a pretty simple recipe of lasagna noodles filled with prosciutto, spinach and cheese tucked in a creamy béchamel sauce then covered with marinara and more cheese... I had you at béchamel didn't I!! I love to say béchamel, it sounds so sophisticated... So foodie! This recipe is sophisticated in flavor yet simple to make and requested quite often. Ingredients Sauce: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 1/2 cups whole milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper Pinch ground nutmeg Lasagna: 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped 1 large egg, beaten to blend 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

Several years ago a local restaurant advertised crab cakes. They advertised, I asked to go, he said no. They'd advertise more, I'd ask again to go, and he'd say no. This went on for weeks until, finally, I wore him down. We went and I was very disappointed. Perhaps it was because of all the anticipation that I had built up, I'm not really sure but that disappointment prompted me to create my own. My first and most important adjustment would be to omit the red bell pepper. I played around with the recipe and what I came up with and received rave reviews from my toughest critics!! Ingredients: 2 cans crab meat 1/2 cup bread crumbs (may need more if batter is too wet) 1/2 tsp dry mustard 1/2 tsp old bay seasoning 1 tsp dried parsley 2 tbsp helmans mayonnaise 2 egg whites   Directions: Drain crab meat. Mix all ingredients together and pan fry until golden brown.

I don't know about you but, growing up, beans were a weekly occurrence around our house (I wasn't a fan), and if you asked my husband he might exaggerate and say that they had to eat them every day! (though I'd guess he's not exaggerating much) As a child, there's nothing fun about a bowl full of stupid little beans... boring, blah, yuck! But, beans have great nutritional value, they are inexpensive and easy to make, and now that I am grown up I can appreciate them. I've had many opportunities to eat beans at his parent's house. One version my mother in law makes is cowboy beans. She cooks onion and ground beef and then adds it to the pot of beans along with a can of rotel. I've taken that idea and doctored it up into something not only palatable but delicious and oh so easy! Of course if you're feeling particularly productive that day you could fry up some cabbage and potatoes to round out the perfect comfort meal!! Cowboy Beans Ingredients:

Happy Birthday to me! I saw this recipe a while back and knew I wanted to make it. Chocolate is the best stuff on earth what better day to try this rich decadent dessert. Baked Hot Chocolate Ingredients 9 ounces 60% semisweet chocolate, finely chopped 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into cubes 4 large eggs 1/4 cup granulated sugar Whipped cream Directions: 1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange ovenproof coffee cups or mugs or 8-ounce ramekins in a baking or roasting pan. 2. Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler set over gently simmering water, and whisk occasionally until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside. 3. Stir the eggs and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer then set over the simmering water and stir until warm to the touch. Place the bowl on the stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, beat for 3 to 5 minute

Crap! I forgot the chili seasoning packet. I wanted something to warm us up when we came back in from the snow. Thats right, I said SNOW!! We are in Texas and we got a snow day! That never happens... ok, rarely happens. But I have never seen this much snow... EVER! You see we broke a record getting 12 inches in one day. The previous record was like 7 inches set back in 1964 or something... but it doesn't matter. All that matters is that its here for a very limited amount of time and my sweeties will be playing out in it all day so they are going to need something warm.  Now back to my problem... I've always used one of those packets to make chili and I was not about to chance driving in this weather to go get it so I googled chili recipes. I serched allrecipes, as well as some of my favorite blogs and didnt see anything that stood out so I just picked out the things I liked and this is what I came up with. This isn't the perfect chili recipe, but it is good and easy. Snow

How do you say love in Italian because this recipe deserves that kind of description. The smooth creamy texture of the mascarpone cheese flavored with a good espresso and Irish Cream... and then topped with a decadent dark cocoa powder. It is good! I love Tiramisu. Let me confess my love for Tiramisu. (Gasp) oh I can't find the words. I love it so much; I order it every chance I get. But I can tell you that Nigella got it right!! Her recipe for Irish Cream Tiramisu is absolutely heavenly, and it is as good as any I've had. But, how can you go wrong with Irish Cream, right? I'm rather impatient so I made this a little earlier in the day and them enjoyed it after dinner rather than waiting overnight per the instructions... and then I enjoyed it the next day... and I think I'll finish it up tonight. Yes people, it's that good! INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 cups espresso coffee 1 cup Baileys cream liqueur, separated 2 x 200g packets Savoiardi (Italian lady finger) biscuits 2